VIENNA - Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said on Monday that they arranged programs to increase contacts in 2004 for Turkey's full membership to European Union (EU) and added, ''our aim is to get a date in 2004 to start full membership negotiations with the EU. We see that there is an appropriate basis for this.''
Arinc, accompanied by a parliamentary delegation, replied to questions of A.A correspondent on board on their way to Vienna.
Noting that they have arranged a program to increase contacts about EU membership in 2004, Arinc said that 2004 was an important year for Turkey's EU membership. He added that a meeting would be held in Budapest between February 3 and 5 and Parliament Speakers of EU candidate countries would attend this meeting, and he would also participate in the meeting. He said that he would go to Germany in March or April upon the invitation of German Parliament Speaker. He added that Parliament Speakers of Belgium, the Netherlands and Lithuania would come to Turkey and also a schedule was made for the visits of Italian and Irish Parliament Speakers to Turkey.
Arinc said, ''our aim is to get negotiation date for EU in 2004. We see that there is an appropriate basis for this.'' Noting that they attributed importance to mutual visits of commissions and friendship groups, not only the meetings of Parliament Speakers, Arinc said that there could also be visits to Syria and Morocco in coming period. He added that he would attend Europe-Mediterranean Parliament Speakers meeting which would be held in Malta in April.
Noting that Austria was an important country, Arinc said that there were some negative approaches in Austria against Turkey's EU membership in the past, but Turkish officials were rapidly invited after high-ranking visits from Turkey to this country in 2003. He added that he hoped that their visit would remove the negative approaches to Turkey.
(GC-AY) 19.01.2004