ANKARA - Industry and Trade Minister Coskun said on Wednesday that the friendly countries of the European Union (EU) delayed time to time circumstances that Turkey deserved.
Addressing the opening remarks of the symposium on ''role and importance of competition policy in EU membership process'', Coskun said that the aim of competition policies was to prevent agreements, decisions and practices that brought obstacles in front of competition in good and service markets and protect economic competition with required arrangements and controls.
Stating that competition laws did not reflect whole competition policy of a country, he said that competition policy was a comprehensive concept which also included incentives, domestic and foreign trade, state monopolies, public purchasing and privatization policies.
Coskun recalled that Turkey's partnership relation with the EU started with Ankara Agreement in 1963 and stated that although Turkey fulfilled its all obligations, friendly countries of the EU delayed time to time circumstances that Turkey deserved and they reached today. He said that the government fulfilled what was necessary on the EU process since it came to the power and added that it was putting them into practice.
Stating that the government currently targeted to fulfill Maastricht and Copenhagen criteria in its relations with the Union, Coskun added that they did not want to be hurt with pretexts which had been put forward for 40 years when they sit at the EU table.
(EÖ-AÖ) 05.11.2003