ISTANBUL - The meeting of Standing Committee for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities (COPPEM) Commission for Cooperation between Cities and Regions was held in Istanbul on Saturday.
At the end of the meeting a declaration was released in order to extend support to Turkey in its EU membership process.
Besides Turkish officials, a number of local and regional authorities from EU and Mediterranean countries attended the meeting.
The declaration stressed that opening of Turkey's EU membership process would make a significant contribution to efforts to further strengthen the cooperation between Europe and the Mediterranean.
It said that Turkey would play an important role in providing peace and tranquillity in the region with its good relations with all regional countries.
''COPPEM believes that Turkey's EU membership process should be speeded up. Turkey should not face any difficulties preventing its contribution to prosperity and development in the region. Local and regional authorities in Euro-Mediterranean region should explain in every occasion that the EU would contribute to democratic, social and economic development of all countries,'' it said.
COPPEM was established on the occasion of the 1st Plenary Assembly of its members in Palermo between November 27th and 28th, 2000.
The purpose of COPPEM is to promote both dialogue and cooperation for local development between towns, municipalities, local authorities, and regions of the member countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and their active and concrete participation in achieving the objectives established within the Barcelona Declaration of 1995.