BRUSSELS - Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yýlmaz said on Thursday that the results of the general elections in Germany carried great importance in respect of Turkey-EU relations.
Speaking in the news conference in Brussels, Yýlmaz said that ''I came to Brussels late last night. I had an appointment with European Parliament Liberal Group's chairman Graham Watson early this morning. But I could not have the chance to meet with the officials at Turkey's EU Representation in Brussels. I start my contacts after meeting with them every time I come to Brussels. I requested Mr. Watson to postpone our meeting.''
Giving information about his meeting with Christian Democrat Group Chairman Hans Gert Poettering, Yýlmaz said that ''I gave detailed information to him about our studies regarding Turkey's EU membership process. I voiced our expectations from Copenhagen summit. The Christian Democrat Group has different tendencies towards Turkey. Particularly the British Conservative Party supports Turkey's membership. German Christian Democrats are divided into two about Turkey. Some of them think that it is early to give Turkey a negotiation date. Poettering said that there are different tendencies within his group, but they welcome the adoption of latest legal regulations in Turkey. He told me that they want to see also the implementation of these laws.''
''We also discussed the political developments. The social democrats and Greens coalition government which is in power looks like they will be ahead in the elections. However, until recently, the opposition looked quite strong. I hope that this picture would shape up in a way that we want in the next ten days. This would help us greatly at the Copenhagen Summit but we also should continue our contacts,'' he said.
Yilmaz said that EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen made conflicting statements. ''I can only make a comment after I meet with him tonight. Verheugen, generally, is a person who wants to contribute to Turkey's EU membership process. Of course he might be more cautious now in his statements due to his political identity. As of October, everybody will start revealing their own views more clearly,'' he said.
''We don't want to raise the Cyprus issue in our relations with the EU,'' he continued. ''But we explain our stance if they ask us a question on this issue. We think that the Cyprus question is independent from Turkey-EU relations. We're continuing our efforts to bring a solution to Cyprus.''
Yilmaz indicated that the upcoming early elections was also a topic during his contacts in Brussels.
''I've told them that there is still a great number of people who haven't decided what party to vote for and a clearer picture will be formed in the coming weeks,'' he said.
Responding to a question, Yilmaz said that there's a possibility that the elections could be postponed to a later date. ''My party thinks that the elections could be rescheduled,'' he added.