ANKARA - Turkey and Luxembourg, the current president of the European Union (EU), discussed on Monday several matters regarding Turkey`s EU membership bid and the documents to be prepared by the EU, a week before Turkey-EU Troika meeting.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met today Nicolas Schmit, the Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs & Immigration of Luxembourg who is currently visiting Turkey.
Diplomatic sources said that Turkey expressed its expectations about the documents to be readied by the EU, and noted that Ankara expected the EU to give priority to technical matters in the Accession Partnership Accord and not to include some political criteria.
Turkey also wants the document which will set the framework of Turkey`s accession negotiations not to be different from those of the other candidate states, and thus calls on the EU not to make any discrimination against itself, diplomatic sources noted.
Sources stated that Turkey thinks that the screening process could begin any moment since Turkey and the EU has been working on many matters for four years.
The same sources quoted Schmit, who is representing the EU acting presidency, as saying that they thought the same with Turkey about launching the screening process, but this matter would be conveyed to the European Commission.
Drawing attention that such meetings prevented misunderstandings between the two parties, Schmit said that both parties should assume their responsibilities to speed up the process, and considered the decision made (by the European Council) on December 17th as ``one-way``.
Schmit added that the Accession Partnership Accord and the frame document Turkey expected to be made public without delay could not be announced during Luxembourg`s acting presidency.
REGULATIONS ON TRNC AND ADJUSTMENT PROTOCOL
Gul and Schmit also took up two regulations on TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) and expansion of the Customs Union Adjustment Protocol (Ankara Agreement) so that it will cover ten new EU member states.
During his meeting with Schmit, Gul once more expressed Turkey`s and TRNC`s expectations about the direct trade and financial regulations and recalled that the EU had committed itself to adopt those two regulations (to lift the blockade against TRNC).
Pointing out that the EU had not taken any steps regarding the regulations so far despite its commitment, Gul said that this situation disappointed both Turkey and TRNC. He drew attention to the fact that no step had been taken regarding this matter made the Greek Cypriot administration, on which no sanctions had been imposed although it rejected the Annan plan in (last April`s) referendum, ``think that it did not need to launch any initiatives to solve the Cyprus problem``.
Gul also said during the meeting that the EU should adopt the two regulations ``without amending them`` and ``simultaneously``.
Sources said that Schmit once more recalled their commitment, and noted that they pursue initiatives regarding that matter.
Gul said that Turkey would keep its commitment (to expand the protocol of the Customs Union) before October 3rd (when the EU is expected to launch entry talks with Turkey), but it had some hesitations. FM Gul added that a Turkish delegation which would visit Brussels this week would discuss this matter with EU representatives.