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A mosque in Turkmenistan - NGOs fear the ITA is being sold too cheaply (Photo: d_proffer)

MEPs seek watchdog role on Turkmenistan relations

The European Parliament is on Thursday (26 March) set to approve an upgrade of EU relations with Turkmenistan, while asking for new foreign policy powers.

The three largest factions in the house - the conservative, socialist and liberal groups - have agreed to vote in favour of the EU signing an Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) with the Central Asia dictatorship.

The move would end an 11-year old stalemate. EU states asked MEPs to bless the agreement in 1998. But deputies in the past...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

A mosque in Turkmenistan - NGOs fear the ITA is being sold too cheaply (Photo: d_proffer)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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