LUXEMBOURG (AFP) - The European Union agreed on Tuesday to restart membership talks with Turkey next month after a three-year break.

EU European Affairs ministers meeting in Luxembourg said the talks would resume on Nov 5.

The 28-nation bloc had agreed to the resumption in principle in June in order to breathe new life into Ankara's long-stalled effort to prise open the EU door.

But it then postponed the restart in protest over Turkey's tough crackdown against a wave of anti-government demonstrations.