BRUSSELS - Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said in the letter he sent to European Union (EU) Commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen that Turkey would take the necessary measures to take due account of the accession of the new members, sources said on Wednesday.
Sources said that Gul wrote the letter in reference to their phone conversation on June 6 concerning the Council of Ministers decree published in the Turkish Official Gazette on May 12, 2004 as regards to the Customs Union.
The letter said that Turkey had updated the list containing each and every member state, the same sources noted.
The same sources quoted Gul as saying in the letter that Turkey would take the necessary measures to take due account of the accession of the new members in order to avoid difficulties for the proper functioning of the Customs Union.
In the letter, Gul hoped that the Commission and the member states would act to facilitate Turkey's steps, particularly through the measures they were to take shortly with a view to ending the isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
Gul said, ''at the same time, we would like to know if the Greek Cypriot authorities have taken the appropriate steps to incorporate the Customs Union regime in their own legislation and for the importation of goods from Turkey through the EU as well as through the North of Cyprus, since it came to our attention through the Greek Cypriot press that the Greek Cypriot authorities would allow not products originating from ''Northern Cyprus'' to enter their territory.''
Sources said that Gul wrote and sent the letter in days when the Greek Cypriot side had launched initiatives to change expressions about Turkey in the statement to be released at the end of the EU summit due on June 17-18.
The same sources stated that the letter was handed over to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) today. The joint statement to be issued at the end of the summit is being discussed in COREPER meetings.
Sources at COREPER state that the Greek Cypriots have demanded that pressure should be put on Turkey to apply the Customs Union to also the Greek Cypriot side.
(BRC) 16.06.2004