ISTANBUL, Oct 21 (AFP) - Europe`s Greens ended a three-day parliamentary group meeting here on Thursday with a ringing endorsement of Turkey`s bid to join the European Union.
"We back to the letter the recommendation of the European Commission," the EU-Turkey group`s president Joost Lagendijk said, a reference to the commission`s favourable declaration on October 6 regarding Turkey`s EU admission plans.
Lagendijk said however that there was still much work to be done, notably in the area of human rights and the rights of minorities.
"If something goes wrong in the area of human rights it will be straight on to the front pages (of European newspapers). It is up to Turkey to go from 80 percent to 100 percent in terms of respect for (EU) community standards," he said.
The co-president of the Greens/European Free Alliance group Monica Frassoni struck a similar note, saying it was important not to "concentrate only on the opening of adhesion negotiations while forgetting the real problems which continue to exist."
She said she also set great store by respect for the rights of women, which she said was a litmus test for a country`s suitability for entry into the EU.
Europe`s Greens, once Turkey`s most vocal critics, are now the staunchest supporters of its EU membership bid.
European leaders will decide on December 17 whether of not to heed the commission`s recommendation and set an agenda for talks on Turkey`s eventual admission into the 25-member union.
10/21/2004 17:00 GMT - AFP