ISTANBUL (AA) - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied some rumors claiming that the government had slowed down in implementing the reforms on Turkey's way to the EU.
''Slowing down is out of question, we know what we do, and we do our homework very well,'' told Erdogan in the Forum Istanbul 2005 meeting.
''Turkey is among countries which have a promising future and our respectability in the world increases as our democracy strengthens,'' said Erdogan.
Noting that Turkey was the 18th biggest economy in the world, Erdogan said Turkey doubled its national income and exceeded 300 billion dollars in two years.
Referring to Turkey's EU bid in his speech, Erdogan said that ''Turkey should overcome the difficulties regarding its EU membership process. From time to time some people claim that the government had slowed down in its EU bid. This is out of question...We are determined to reach our goal and we will continue to implement our program...We target to meet the EU's universal values without losing our national values in the next ten years. Our biggest guarantee in that regard is the devotion of Turkish society to civilization values and its great willingness and resolution for further development.''
2005-05-05