Gul: We Ask For Equal Treatment Rather Than A Privileged One

ANKARA - FM Abdullah Gul stated that ''(Turkey) asks for equal treatment rather than a privileged one (as regards its relations with the EU)''. He also added that ''the period of accession talks shall depend on Turkey's performance.''
Taking the floor in a conference organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Foreign Policy Institute, Gul said that ''for centuries Turkey has been a vital part of Europe''. ''For the past 50 years, Turkey has been striving to develop its relations with Europe,'' he also remarked.
According to Gul, ''the EU Commission has welcomed the political and economic reforms performed by the Justice & Development Party (AK Party) in the past two years and has referred to such reforms in its Progress Report.'' Gul reported that ''Turkey has met the requirements outlined in the Copenhagen Criteria and this point has been taken into consideration by the commission.''
Reminding journalists that Turkey was declared as a candidate for EU membership in Helsinki in 1999, Gul said that ''since this is the case, we desire equal treatment and not a privileged one.'' Gul further stated that ''there will be a total of 31 topics to be handled during accession talks on which they have already started working.'' ''Turkey is experienced in peace making and this will help the EU and global security,'' told Gul at the conference.

(ULG) 21.10.2004