Serbia received a full candidate status on 1 March 2012.

This candidate status was officially granted on 17 December 2010.

This is the first step before making an application for candidate status and membership negotiations.

Following the granting of candidate status in 2005, there was a slowdown.

When that happens, we will be able to grant Albania candidate status.

These are long-standing relations, which are made even closer by the country's candidate status.

The decision to grant candidate status to Montenegro was primarily political.

I therefore think that it is too soon to grant Turkey candidate status.

We would have welcomed such a discussion before the decision to grant Turkey candidate status, rather than starting it now.

These are all things which, in our view, do not justify giving Turkey candidate status at this point in time.