BRUSSELS - State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said on Tuesday that the atmosphere in the EU is to the advantage of Turkey.
Yilmaz, who is currently in Brussels to represent the Turkish government in the European Convention meetings, met with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen.
Yilmaz said that his meeting with Verheugen was very open, sincere and constructive, adding that ''he informed me about the evaluations made on Turkey during the Brussels summit last week and the candidate countries summit in Copenhagen.
''The impression I got here is that the final assessment about Turkey in Copenhagen summit will be at the political level. EU countries' heads of governments and states have reached a consensus of opinion in the preliminary meetings held in Brussels that the steps taken for integration of Turkey with the EU have to continue in Copenhagen Summit. Therefore in my opinion the possibility of a negative development for Turkey in Copenhagen summit has decreased significantly. A very important step can be taken in Copenhagen summit if the new government can be set up as soon as possible following the elections in Turkey and if necessary studies can be undertaken until Copenhagen summit,'' Yilmaz said.
Upon a question, Yilmaz said that ''I got the impression that a positive decision will be taken in Copenhagen. We have still time and we must benefit well from this period. The election results in Turkey should develop in a way that will ease this process.''
Stating that the atmosphere after the Brussels Summit was in favor of Turkey, Yilmaz said that he had an impression that a decision which would disappoint Turkey would not be taken at Copenhagen Summit.
He said, ''I think that a decision about Turkey's negotiation date for its membership to the Union will be taken at Copenhagen Summit. It doesn't mean that a negotiation date will be given to Turkey definitely at the summit, but a conditional date can be given. The election results and performance of the government which will be formed after November 3 elections can influence positively this decision.''
Upon a question on European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), Yilmaz said, ''the point which is reached on ESDP shows that the issue will have a solution. They have such an expectation. There is no change in our attitude on that issue. The events are developing in line with my expectations and predictions. The developments in the world prevent ignorance of the strategical location of Turkey. The assessment of the EU Commission was technical. When the issue is taken up politically, the view that Turkey should take its place in the EU gains importance. The process depends on our performance from now on.''
Mesut Yilmaz will depart from Brussels on Tuesday afternoon.