"We have just made history," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said after chairing the opening of the momentous talks. He added that the future for the union is "an EU based on values, not just history. Turkey has always been a European country."

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who flew to Luxembourg late Monday to attend the brief, middle-of-the-night ceremony to formally open the negotiations, said both Europe and Turkey stood to gain.

"Our relations with Europe began in 1963, a period of more than 40 years. We have arrived today at a historic stage," he said. "It is not just Turkey that will win, but also the European Union will win."

It took last-minute wrangling among EU foreign ministers during arduous Sunday-Monday talks to secure a joint position on opening the negotiations with Ankara.