Verheugen: Wait A Bit More For EU
Güncelleme Tarihi:
EU Commissioner Gunther Verheugen said that Turkey should be a bit more patient for EU membership and that they had not yet determined what kind of an advisory decision they would take. Verheugen told German Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung daily; “We will not say “yes” or “no” without any condition. We can take a different kind of advisory decision in line with the political circumstances in Turkey.”
Verheugen said that there was a “confused” picture in Turkey since, in spite of successful political reforms, human rights violations and torture were still under way, religious freedom was restricted, and the power of the Army did not comply with the democracy view of EU. Verheugen asserted that the Commission would not hesitate to take a “disturbing” advisory decision and that no compromise could be thought over the Copenhagen Criteria. Verheugen drew attention to the fact that the decision over Turkey would be the last decision of the Prodi Commission, which, hence, could not be pressurized from outside.
Verheugen said that as long as the Cyprus issue continued, the European public opinion would not accept commencing accession talks with Turkey and that; It will be difficult to ignore the circumstances in the island, especially because Turkish troops are present there.