Erdogan: Some People Wrongfully Think That December 17th Will Be The Date Of Full Membership

ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, ''during our meetings in France, I unfortunately saw that some people wrongfully think that December 17th will be the date of Turkey's membership to the EU. In fact, it will be the date of approval of opening of entry talks.''
Holding a press conference at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport after his return from France, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''I believe that intellectual section of French people had received the answers when I responded to questions about Turkey's EU process during my speech at the French Institute of International Relations. I had the opportunity of responding to French people's concerns stemming from lack of information and prejudices.''
Recalling that he had met French Economy, Finance & Industry Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''we discussed the bilateral relations between Turkey and France and Turkey's EU process in detail. I reiterated once again that we are determined to become a full member of the EU.''
Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''France is the country that has the highest number of companies investing in Turkey. As for capital investments, France is ranked fifth with 5.5 billion U.S. dollars. There have been political, military, economic, cultural and commercial ties between Turkey and France. Therefore, France's support to Turkey's EU membership process is very important to us.''
He said that he had informed Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) on recent economic growth and stability of Turkey.
Recalling that he had held a bilateral meeting with OECD Secretary General Donald Johnson, Prime Minister Erdogan said that the OECD's regular report for Turkey was released during his visit.
Highlighting importance of the report, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''international organizations and finance circles such as the World Bank and the IMF see the report as a reference.''
Prime Minister Erdogan added that he would meet President Jacques Chirac of France and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin next week.
(UK-MS) 21.10.2004