ANKARA (AA) - ''France's rejection of the European Union (EU) constitution by a referendum yesterday (Sunday) is an expected outcome, not a surprise'', Turkish State Minister and chief negotiator Ali Babacan said on Monday.
Babacan told A.A correspondent that the EU decided during its summit held on December 17th, 2004 to launch negotiations with Turkey in October 2005, and said, ''negotiations will start on October 3rd, 2005. The (enlargement protocol) which is a precondition, will be signed after the procedure (in Brussels) is completed. It will have been signed before October 3rd. The December 17th decision (of the EU) was based on the Treaty of Nice and other related resolutions on Turkey, adopted in previous summits.''
''Different political moods can be seen in some countries during our long negotiation process. As Turkey, we will focus on our target, be patient and work hard. Each stage we complete in our negotiation process will raise Turkey's standards,'' added Babacan.
(BRC-ULG)
2005-05-30