EU RAPPORTEUR SAYS TURKEY HAS NOT FULLY MET CRITERIA YET

NTV television, Istanbul 18 Oct 04

European Parliament (EP) rapporteur Camille Eurlings has said that
Turkey has not yet fully met the Copenhagen criteria. Speaking on NTV,
he said that he will be critical when drawing up his report, which
will be published before the 17 December EU summit.

For this report, Camille Eurlings, a Christian Democrat from the
Netherlands, is visiting Ankara, Istanbul, Diyarbakir and
Mardin. Discussing his first impressions, Eurlings gave some signals
as to what his report will be like. He said: I will do whatever is
necessary for my report to be constructive. Great changes took place
in Turkey in the past few years. There have been achievements. I think
that in my report I must mention these achievements which I find very
impressive. To be fair, I must also be critical. I will include in my
report the areas in progress is needed. Turkey has not yet fully met
the EU’s political criteria.

Eurlings pointed out that there are problems in implementation,
adding: We see that the new laws are quite good but they have not
impacted daily life yet. In its Progress Report, the EU Commission
stressed the importance of implementation. The Turkish people deserve
to live in a country where there is no torture; they deserve cultural
and religious freedom.

Eurlings said that he thinks it is important for Turkey to recognize
the Cyprus Republic and to improve its relations with
Armenia. Nevertheless, he said, these are not conditions for the start
of negotiations.

Eurlings plans to complete his report in two weeks. After debating the
report, the EP will announce its recommendation on whether accession
talks should begin with Turkey. At the 17 December summit, the EU
leaders will reach a decision by taking into consideration both this
recommendation and that of the EU Commission.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress