SOFIA - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Wednesday Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Ognyan Gerdzhikov.
Erdogan, who is paying a two-day official visit to Bulgaria as guest of his Bulgarian counterpart Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, is accompanied by Turkish State Minister Besir Atalay, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler, deputies and bureaucrats.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan had talks with his Bulgarian counterpart Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on the first day of his visit. Following their meeting, the two prime ministers held a joint press conference. In the press conference Erdogan stressed that the European Union (EU) would undergo a test concerning the ''Turkey case'' in December of 2004, adding that if the EU failed to set a date for opening of accession talks with Turkey, it would deeply disappoint Turkish people. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in his part, extended support to Turkey's EU membership process.
During the meetings between Turkish and Bulgarian delegations, Erdogan called on the Bulgarian government to have a broader cooperation with Turkey in fight against the terrorist organization PKK.
Erdogan later met European Parliament (EP) President Pat Cox. Cox stressed that the EU would take into account Turkey's efforts and performance when it was deciding whether or not to open accession talks with Turkey in December 2004.
(BRC-ULG) 07.07.2004