Cicek: If E.U. Does Not Give A Date For Negotiations, We Will Continue On Our Path

ANKARA - Turkish Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said on Monday, ''if the European Union (EU) does not give a date for negotiations on December 17, 2004, Turkey will continue on its path.''
Cicek held a news conference following today's weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers.
When asked, ''the EU released statements saying that entry negotiations between Turkey and the EU cannot start unless important parts of the draft Penal Code (TCK) are enacted. Has the government taken a decision about it?'' Cicek told reporters, ''the question is the same, the problem is the same, and the answers are quite similar. We have been discussing the same issue for more than fifteen days. It is meaningless and unnecessary to tell anything. Time will show in what direction the work will go.''
''We attribute importance to the EU. Because of this importance, we have made many important reforms in the last twenty-two months. The EU is an important issue, but it is not the only issue on Turkey's agenda. There are many issues on our agenda such as developments in Turkey and abroad. We attribute importance to all these issues, and we handle them in a balanced way,'' he said.
Cicek added, ''suppose that the EU does not give a date for negotiations on December 17. What will we do? We are not going to sit and cry. We will and should continue on our path. The EU is a union of values. Our real aim is to guarantee all fundamental rights and freedoms and increase democratic standards in Turkey with or without the EU.''

(UK-MS) 20.09.2004