PARIS - French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said on Monday that France would carefully examine the report on Turkey which the European Union (EU) Commission would release in October.
Following their meeting, Raffarin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference.
Raffarin said they discussed relations between Turkey and the EU, stating that they would examine the EU Commission`s report and they would make their decision on the matter at the EU summit in December.
Noting that they also discussed international and bilateral matters, Raffarin said that they had similar opinions on many issues concerning Europe.
Raffarin said that cooperation between Turkey and France in bilateral issues was brought onto the agenda, stating that they reviewed cooperation in energy, aviation and transportation.
Raffarin added that they also discussed matters of cooperation in cultural area and industrial projects and cooperation between Turkish and French local administrations.
Meanwhile, Erdogan said that they focused on Turkey-EU matters, adding, ``we asked France to continue its support to Turkey in its EU process.``
Noting that he explained the reforms made in Turkey and his opinions about implementation of those reforms, Erdogan said that they reviewed opportunities of cooperation between Turkey and France in energy and transportation. Recalling that nearly 400 thousand Turkish citizens were living in France, Erdogan said that those citizens constitute an important bridge between Turkey and France.
Noting that number of French tourists visiting Turkey had been 480 thousand in 2003 and they expected it to increase over to 600 thousand this year, Erdogan added that French tourists visiting Turkey would make significant contribution to bilateral relations.
(MS) 19.07.2004