Turkey: We Remain Hopeful That European Integration Will Continue

ANKARA (AA) - ''We remain hopeful that European integration will continue, overcoming problems which emerged, while drawing necessary lessons from the democratic verdict of the French and Dutch peoples,'' Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman Namik Tan said on Thursday.
     Replying to questions of journalists after Dutch voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposed EU constitution in Wednesday's referendum, Tan said, ''in the past, the EU faced several problems during its integration process. However, compromise, common-sense and the will to reach the joint target have always won out.'' ''Turkey is determined to work hard in line with the preference of most of our people to reach its goal of EU full membership. Our fundamental aim in the coming period is to ensure a successful conclusion of the EU membership negotiation process which will start on October 3rd,'' Tan added.
     Nearly two thirds of Dutch voters rejected the draft constitution, which is designed to help the EU work more smoothly after enlargement, compounding a crisis in the bloc sparked by France's 'no' vote in a Sunday referendum.
     (UK-ULG)
2005-06-02