On 2 September 2005, in response to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Five held on 1 and 2 September in Newport, Wales, in order to discuss whether or not to maintain the date of 3 October for the opening of negotiations for the accession of Turkey to the European Union and to clarify how they will be conducted, Albert Rohan, former Director-General of the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Martti Athisaari, former President of Finland, emphasise the need for the European Union to honour its earlier commitments and to open accession negotiations with Turkey, despite the political difficulties associated with the recognition of the Republic of Cyprus.