Turkish Foreign Minister stresses full EU membership

"The principle of pacta sunt servanda is one of the most important principles of the EU and we expect from our friends to show more attention to this issue," Babacan told reporters before the council meeting which is expected to discuss a position paper on Turkey's accession.

"An EU member country had made a failed attempt to omit the word 'accession' in the EU common position paper and of course these discussions are disturbing. The reforms process in Turkey can only be completed as long as full EU membership target stood still. Otherwise questions might arise in Turkey," Babacan said.

The council meeting will also take up issues related to the Customs Union, and review financial cooperation and efforts to comply with the EU acquis, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement on Monday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan would address a joint Turkish-EU parliamentary committee at the European Parliament and the parliament's foreign relations committee, it added.

The Union's foreign ministers approved on Monday the common position paper, which will be presented to Turkey at the Partnership Council meeting, without any changes, ending a week-long disagreement over France's insistence to remove the word "accession" from the paper.

The Association Council is the most important decision-making body on Turkish-EU relations. It meets periodically at the ministerial level, bringing together member states with Turkey to overview the accession process.

During the Association Council meeting each side delivers a speech explaining how they see the current state of affairs. The speech delivered by the term presidency of the Union is called "common position," and has to be penned with consensus among the 27 member states.

Babacan said later on Monday the EU common position paper on Turkey was "satisfactory."

"It is true that certain member countries had exerted efforts to wear down our membership bid but other members and the rotating presidency struggled to preserve Turkey's full membership target, and the paper, as it is, constitutes a satisfactory document for us," Babacan told reporters before his departure for Brussels.

"Continued interference about the word 'accession' at different levels of our negotiation process is disturbing and these obstructions do not comply with the principle of pacta sunt servanda, which is one of the basic principles of the European Union," he said.

The EU document calls on all Turkish political actors to find solutions by respecting basic freedoms, the constitution and democratic secularity through dialogue and compromise.

The document expresses concern on the slow down in reforms in Turkey. "The EU has noted the Turkish government's will to amend the Turkish Constitution. The constitutional amendments are essential in embracing EU standards," it added.