COSKUN: OUR GOVERNMENT IS DETERMINED TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ADHERE TO THE E.U.
Turkish Press
Sept 11 2006
ISTANBUL – "Our government is determined to do what it takes to
become a full member of the European Union (EU)," said Ali Coskun,
Turkish Minister of Industry & Trade, on Thursday.
Coskun was a guest speaker at a symposium organized by the Istanbul
Trade University on "Turkey and EU Membership Process."
Ali Coskun indicated that Turkey’s ultimate goal is to join the EU as
a full member. "Screening meetings for 25 topics have been completed.
We plan to accomplish screening of 35 topics by October 13th, 2006,"
remarked Coskun.
Meanwhile, another participant, EU Harmonization Committee Chairman
Yasar Yakis has stated that entry negotiations with the EU are going
on successfully at technical level.
Referring to the ‘Turkey Report’ made public by the European
Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee two days ago, Yakis said that
"the topics regarding the so-called Armenian, Pontus and Syrian
genocides cannot be included in entry negotiations process. We are
hoping that the EP General Assembly will remove those topics when it
votes the report later this year."