NICOSIA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- It is still too early to judge Turkey's EU accession progress, to be evaluated by the European Council in December, a Swedish official said on Tuesday.

    A report on Turkey's efforts to meet accession criteria is scheduled to be published on Wednesday by the European Commission, Cecilia Malmstrom, the Swedish minister for European affairs, said after a meeting with Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou.

    "I think it is too premature to tell about the outcome of these discussions," said Malmstrom, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

    It has been set out right from the beginning that, if Turkey fulfils the criteria, a new chapter in its negotiations will be opened, said Malmstrom, who held talks in Nicosia on the Greek/Turkish divide in Cyprus and the evaluation of Turkey's progress in its drive to join the EU.

    "If this actually happens, then the next chapter likely to be opened will be the one on the environment," she added.

    Turkey has been engaged in negotiations with the EU on only 11 chapters of a total of 35 policy areas that a candidate state must finalize, with eight other chapters frozen due to its refusal to open airports and port facilities to the Greek Cypriot side.

    Kyprianou said that the Cyprus government's position on the issue was very clear, "that is to say Ankara has to fully fulfill obligations undertaken vis-a-vis the European Union and consequently vis-a-vis Cyprus."

    Cyprus has been urging other EU countries to take a tougher position on Turkey, if the latter still refuses to implement the Ankara Protocol, which involves opening its airports and ports to Greek Cypriot planes and ships.

    Cyprus' Parliament Speaker Marios Karoyian, who also met with the Swedish minister, said Turkey "will not come out intact next December if it does not carry out its obligations towards Cyprus."

    Turkey held its European destiny in its own hands, said Karoyian, whose country now has a veto power to bar Turkey's EU accession.

    Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish military occupied the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

    In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot authorities declared the establishment of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which is recognized only by Ankara.

    For several decades, the United Nations has continuously worked to persuade the two sides to find a solution to the issue, which is now a main obstacle to Turkey's bid for EU membership.