Brussels, 30/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Secretary General of the EU Council/High Representative Javier Solana is to go from Lisbon, where he is to participate in Wednesday's EU/United States Summit, to Ankara, where on Thursday he is to have talks with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, and possibly with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and the Republic's new President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The main goal of the visit is to reassure Turkey, which is concerned at the arrangements being envisaged by the Union of in future consulting the six European countries members of NATO that are not members of the European Union regarding the development of Esdp (see EUROPE of 25 May, regarding the discontent expressed by Turkish Defence Minister Sebattin Cakmako, on the occasion of the WEU Council in Oporto). These arrangements, that will be presented by the Portuguese Presidency in its report on Esdp to the European Council in Feira on 19 and 20 June, was the subject of an agreement within the EU's Political Committee: at the WEU Council in Oporto, Alain Richard, France's Minister of Defence, country which from 1 July is to take over the Presidency of the EU and WEU Councils, said that the EU intended consulting these countries, as well as the nine applicant countries) at the rate of two meetings per semester, and that, in addition, the European Allies in NATO would be consulted on all subjects concerning the use of force each time it proves necessary.
You may recall that Javier Solana made a similar trip, a month ago, to another non-EU member country of NATO, Norway (also see EUROPE of 25 May, for the address of Norwegian State Secretary Mr. Singsaas, in Oporto).