ANKARA - The European Union (EU) Commissioner, Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen arrived in Ankara late on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, Verheugen said that his visit to Turkey was very important ahead of the Progress Report on Turkey that would be made public by the EU Commission in October.
Verheugen said that he would meet Turkish officials and representatives of nongovernmental organizations in Ankara, adding that he would also visit southeastern province of Diyarbakir, western province of Izmir and Istanbul.
Noting that he was paying a visit to Turkey to be informed by Turkish government on reform process and get impression about application of reforms in the country, Verheugen said that's why he would pay visits to different cities.
Stating that the package on Turkey which would be made public on October 6th would be comprised of three chapters, Verheugen said that the first chapter would discuss whether reforms in democratization, supremacy of law, minorities and human rights met criteria of accession to the EU.
Verheugen said that there would be a strategic assessment in the second chapter which would say whether the Union would open entry talks with Turkey, adding that this chapter would also recommend a start date for entry talks, if the EU decided to open those talks.
He noted that the last chapter, the most important one, would discuss political, strategic, cultural, economic and institutional effects of Turkey's accession to the EU.
(EÖ-AY) 06.09.2004