Gul: We Will Not Let E.U. Say Turkey Has Deficiencies

ANKARA - Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that they would not let the European Union (EU) say that Turkey had deficiencies.
Speaking in the private NTV channel, Gul said that Turkey had listed its shortcomings and eliminated them on paper.
Gul noted, ''but, we should show that these are put into practice. The parliament has accomplished its duties and now, it is the government who will take action.''
Some of the laws took effect immediately after they were passed, Gul stated.
Gul said that legal arrangements should be made in order to put into practice some of the laws.
They would closely follow the developments in putting into practice those laws till the end of 2004, Gul pointed out. He said, ''we will not let the EU say Turkey has deficiencies.''
Gul stated that how long the negotiation process would continue after EU full membership negotiations were opened depended on performance of a candidate country.
Recalling that the negotiation process of big countries could be longer than that of the small countries, Gul said that in his opinion, Turkey's negotiations could be completed within 10 years.
(BRC-AÖ) 09.09.2003