IZMIR - ''When it comes to EU full membership, Turkey must conform to all principles and regulations of the EU'', said Hans Joerg Kretschmer, EU Commission's Representative to Turkey, on Tuesday.
Kretschmer replied questions of reporters after taking the floor in an international conference entitled ''EU Accession: Perspectives for Agriculture Sector and Rural Areas in Turkey'', held at Yzmir Hilton Hotel. When asked about debates on EU's initiatives to include several political criteria in negotiating chapter titled ''Education & Culture'', Kretschmer said: ''it is wrong to focus on debates about procedure very much. However Turkey has to adjust itself to all principles and regulations of the EU to become a full member''.
He noted that ''it is not possible to say that one of the issues (adjustment to acquis or meeting political criteria) is less important than the other'' and added that ''Turkey has a long way to go and on the day of full membership it will have to meet completely all criteria and regulations''.
When asked whether it is more correct to assess political criteria and the negotiation chapters within the scope of their own terms, Kretschmer said that the Commission proposed to exclude political criteria while opening talks on Education & Culture chapter, however, demands of EU countries cannot be disregarded. He added that the Commission pursues negotiations on behalf of EU member countries.
Noting that educational issues have many points related to human rights, Kretschmer said that ''all principles should be accepted prior to membership''.