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EU OFFICIAL HOPES "UNJUST" REPORT ON TURKEY WILL BE MADE MORE BALANCED
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
26 Sep 06
Strasbourg, 26 September: Joost Lagendijk, copresident of the Joint
Parliamentary Commission between the Turkish parliament and the
European Parliament, expressed his hope that the report on Turkey,
which would be debated today and approved by the European Parliament
tomorrow, would be made more balanced.
At a news conference prior to the debates on the report, Lagendijk
said that the report became tough, unjust and unbalanced as a result
of proposals on the Armenia and Cyprus issues, which were approved
by the Foreign Affairs Commission.
Supporters of the EU in Turkey would suffer the most if the report
was approved without any changes, he said.
Meanwhile, Cem Ozdemir, a member of the Greens Group, said that forcing
Turkey to recognize the socalled Armenian genocide as a precondition
for its EU membership was unacceptable.
"We also criticize that while Turkey is expected to fulfil its
commitments stemming from the Ankara Treaty, no one calls on the
EU to lift isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey has legal
responsibilities to fulfil the Ankara Treaty while the EU has political
responsibilities to lift the isolation," Ozdemir added.
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
26 Sep 06
Strasbourg, 26 September: Joost Lagendijk, copresident of the Joint
Parliamentary Commission between the Turkish parliament and the
European Parliament, expressed his hope that the report on Turkey,
which would be debated today and approved by the European Parliament
tomorrow, would be made more balanced.
At a news conference prior to the debates on the report, Lagendijk
said that the report became tough, unjust and unbalanced as a result
of proposals on the Armenia and Cyprus issues, which were approved
by the Foreign Affairs Commission.
Supporters of the EU in Turkey would suffer the most if the report
was approved without any changes, he said.
Meanwhile, Cem Ozdemir, a member of the Greens Group, said that forcing
Turkey to recognize the socalled Armenian genocide as a precondition
for its EU membership was unacceptable.
"We also criticize that while Turkey is expected to fulfil its
commitments stemming from the Ankara Treaty, no one calls on the
EU to lift isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey has legal
responsibilities to fulfil the Ankara Treaty while the EU has political
responsibilities to lift the isolation," Ozdemir added.