ANKARA - The European Union (EU) Commissioner, Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen will hold meetings in Turkey between September 5th and 9th.
Turkish Foreign Ministry stated on Friday that Verheugen will be received by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on September 6th. Following his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Verheugen will go to Diyarbakir, a southeastern province; Aegean city of Izmir; and Istanbul between September 6th and 9th. He will also meet the representatives of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and other officials.
''(President of the EU Commission) Prodi's term in office will end on October 31, 2004. Thus, the visit of Verheugen, which will take place one month before the Commission made public the Progress Report on Turkey (on October 6, 2004), will be an opportunity to discuss recent developments about the reform process in Turkey and to exchange views,'' said the Ministry.
''As it is known, one of the basic targets of Turkish government's foreign policy is to urge EU to make a (positive) decision as regards to fix a firm date to start membership negotiations with Turkey after the December 2004 EU summit. Our position on this issue will be stressed one more time during the visit of Commissioner Verheugen,'' added the Ministry.
(GC-ULG) 03.09.2004