CHALKIDIKI - Turkey will show its will one more time on Thursday for being full member of the European Union (EU) and taking part in the future of Europe with its high-ranking representation in Thessaloniki Summit of EU during which EU countries will give the current shape to constitution of the union.
Turkey will be represented by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in the summit which will start tonight in Chalkidiki peninsula near Thessaloniki city of Greece that has been term president of EU since the beginning of year.
Erdogan and Gul will be in Greece on Friday night to attend the meeting of Greece with the leaders of candidate countries Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania for the summit of which main agenda item will be European constitution.
Erdogan and Gul will attend the dinner to be held by Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos in honor of leaders, following the meeting in which the current situation in membership process of three countries will be taken up.
Diplomatic sources said that Turkey would inform EU term presidency about the current development in adjustment activities for EU and express its determination for being full member during the summit.
Ankara, who has joined the European Convention meetings from the outset, is foreseen to express its hope to participate in the intergovernmental conference under the status of observer.
In EU backstage, it is stated that expectations that this demand of Turkey will be considered positive while it is considered a chance for Turkey that Italy, who is warm towards EU membership of Turkey, will take over the term presidency.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had stated that Turkey would be invited as observer to heads of state and government summit during Italy's term presidency.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is expected to leave Greece for Amman on Saturday, on the second day of the summit while Erdogan will return to Turkey.
It has not yet been definite if reference will be made to Turkey's membership process or Cyprus issue in the final statement of the Salonica summit.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, in the statement he made in Rome, had said that the message that ''Turkey had recorded significant progress but it had to record some other developments to adjust with the European criteria'' would be given to Turkish officials in Salonica.
Meanwhile, it is not clear whether or not Greece will bring onto agenda latest developments regarding the Aegean, which it has tried to bring into the EU platform recently.
The Term Presidency will meet with leaders of candidate countries Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.
(GC-BRC-AÖ) 19.06.2003