AMSTERDAM (CIHAN) - The Turkish Prime Minister warned the European Union that Turkish people will be more than just disappointed if the EU fails to give Turkey an accession date.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his government would give priority to the implementation of the EU-inspired reforms which are being finalized in the Turkish parliament.
Erdogan and his Dutch counterpart Jan Balkenende held a joint press conference following their meeting in Amsterdam. Erdogan said that the Turkish government aggressively sought to pass the Copenhagen criteria through parliament and has begun to enforce these reforms.
Turkey is seeking to open accession talks with the EU commission in December after having legislated numerous EU-inspired reforms in recent years, which have been praised by the EU leaders.
Erdogan underlined that the implementation of 100 percent of the EU reforms is not possible, adding that even certain current EU members don`t implement the Copenhagen criteria in 100 percent of cases.
"We adopting the EU-harmonization packages not only to meet the EU Copenhagen criteria but to enhance the life standard of Turkish people," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey expect objective progress report on Turkey by the European Commission.
The EU Commission is due to issue a Progress Report in the coming month of October on whether Turkey has met the EU political criteria.
Turkish has been waiting to enter European Union for more than 40 years, reminded Erdogan and added that Turkey is better than certain EU members in fulfilling the EU standards.
The Turkish Prime Minister has been seeking support for Turkey`s EU aspiration in his visit to Holland. Holland will hold the EU term presidency starting in July.
Erdogan added that he believes that Holland will be successful during its EU term presidency.
EU leaders will convene in Brussels on June 17-18 ahead of the crucial December summit where the decision on whether to open accession talks with Turkey will be taken.
In response to question on the prison standards and police in Turkey, Erdogan said that Turkish prisons had attained the EU standards with recent rehabilitations. "Turkish police are more tolerant than the their European counterparts."
The Dutch Prime Minister said in same press conference that Holland will decide on Turkey`s EU membership after seeing the EU progress report on Turkey. The Dutch Prime Minister praised the recent reforms taken by the Turkish government. "Turkey took important democratic steps." The Dutch Prime Minister added that he feels positive towards Turkey`s EU membership.
The Turkish government paved the way for expanding the cultural rights of the Kurdish people by adopting the EU-inspired reform packages. Last week, the state broadcaster (TRT) began airing radio and TV programs in two Kurdish dialects, Kurmanji and Zaza. The Turkish Supreme Court freed four former pro-Kurdish-DEP deputies, including Nobel peace prize nominee Leyla Zana, who were jailed in 1994 for ties with the PKK.