BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on Wednesday that the EU could trust Turkey.
Verheugen, who held a joint press conference with EU Commission President Romano Prodi, said that there were two alternatives, that were ''yes'' or ''not yet'', while they were preparing the progress report.
Stating that the impressing reform process and the participation of the non-governmental organizations in Turkey eliminated all reasons for saying ''not yet'' to Turkey, Verheugen said, ''the only guarantee of maintaining the impressing political and economic reforms in Turkey is the continuation of the accession process.''
Verheugen noted that the progress report reflected the real situation in Turkey very well, Verheugen noted that nobody could expect a country to completely implement the reforms within a few years after they were made. He said, ''this process is continuing in an unbelievable way. The Turkish government is very reliable so we can trust Turkey. It would be very wrong to tell Turkey wait for a few years more.''
EU leaders would decide in intergovernmental conference in December when to start talks with Turkey, Verheugen stated.
Defining the decisions of the Commission regarding Turkey as ''the final and the most important decision'', Verheugen said, ''mission has been accomplished.''
Verheugen said that European public opinion had some worries which mainly stemmed from misunderstandings, and noted that those misunderstandings should be corrected.
Stating that discussions on adultery were held very openly in Turkey, Verheugen said, ''discussions showed that those who favor modernism in Turkey are more than the others.''
(BRC-MS) 06.10.2004