TURKEY'S CHIEF EU NEGOTIATOR URGES UNION TO HONOR ITS WORD

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Aug 13 2010

Turkey's chief European Union negotiator reiterated his country's
call for the Union to stay loyal to its commitments.

"We are expecting the European Union to meet its obligations. The joint
drive of Turkey and the EU for a common future is a mutual promise
based on agreements, conventions and anonymously voted EU resolutions,"
Egemen Bagis said in a letter he sent to the British daily The Times.

Bagis said Turkey should become an EU member for many reasons including
its contributions to the European economy, and its key role in the
EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The Turkish negotiator said his country had been taking steps to
normalize its relations with Armenia, and that it extended support
to ongoing settlement talks in Cyprus.

Bagis said Turkey had made "impressive reforms" including a
constitutional amendment package and a laws expanding rights and
freedoms.

The Turkish official rejected a much-criticized call for "a privileged
partnership" for Turkey, saying that a status short of full-fledged
membership was against the founding principles of the Union.




From: A. Papazian