The Daily Telegraph, UK
Dec 15 2004

EU urged to begin Turkey talks
(Filed: 15/12/2004)

The European Parliament has called the EU to open membership talks
with Turkey “without undue delay,” and told Ankara to carry out more
democratic reforms.

The resolution, which was passed by MEPs in Strasbourg by a vote of
407 to 262, is not binding but is likely to influence EU leaders as
they gather in Brussels to discuss admitting Turkey.

Josep Borrell, president of the European Parliament
During the two-day European Council, which begins tomorrow, the 25 EU
leaders are expected to approve opening membership talks with Ankara
sometime next year.

MEPs called on Turkey to meet demands for a “zero-tolerance” approach
to torture, which the legislature says is still being carried out by
authorities in Turkey.

The resolution also requires Turkey to recognise Cyprus, which joined
the EU in May.

Finally, the parliament urged Turkey to acknowledge “the genocide
perpetrated against the Armenians” nearly a century ago. Ankara still
vehemently denies killing as many as 1.5 million Armenians between
1915 and 1923.

However, Josep Borrell, the president of the European Parliament said
that acknowledging the genocide of the Armenians was not a condition
of membership. “We are just recognizing certain historical events,”
he said.

MEPs rejected a bid from French and German conservatives to create a
“partnership” between the EU and Turkey as an alternative to
membership.