EP ADOPTS TURKEY REPORT WITHOUT MAKING RECOGNITION OF SO-CALLED GENOCIDE A PRECONDITION FOR EU ACCESSION

Turkish Press
Sept 29 2006

The European Parliament yesterday approved a report on Turkey, after
dropping a section making recognition of the so-called Armenian
genocide a precondition for membership, but stressed that "it is
indispensable for a country on the road to membership to come to
terms with and recognize its past." The report drawn up by Dutch
Conservative MEP Camiel Eurlings passed easily by a vote of 429-71
among the 625 deputies present. There were 125 abstentions. Speaking
after the vote, Eurlings said that the report was "just," adding
that he was pleased that recognizing the so-called genocide wasn’t
accepted as a precondition. "It wouldn’t be appropriate to put forth
new criteria for Turkey," said Eurlings. The MEPs also rejected an
amendment proposing a special partnership for Turkey, in lieu of full
membership, but underlined that the accession talks are an open-ended
process whose outcome cannot be guaranteed beforehand. In related
news, Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan vowed to keep up the reform
process aimed at joining the European Union, but warned it would be
unacceptable for the bloc to introduce new membership criteria.

"We’re not seeking anything special from the EU in the process
ahead and in return we naturally cannot accept new criteria being
introduced," Erdogan told a conference in Istanbul, stressing that
Ankara is doing its best to meet the requirements of the 25-nation
bloc.