Ankara, 08/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem reacted in an unfavourable manner to the latest developments in the EU's attitude towards his country. Thus:
- The European Commission is firmly invited to exclude the question of Cyprus and the problems with Greece in the Aegean Sea from the paper it is preparing on pre-accession partnership. The conclusions of the EU Helsinki Summit, which gave Turkey the status of applicant country, did not provide for any link between Turkey's progress towards accession and the Cypriot question, and the Greek-Turkish questions (delimitation of continental plateau, sovereignty on some islands, etc.) must be settled through dialogue between Athens and Ankara, that Mr Cem states he is willing to open at any time. Mr Cem's approach towards EU countries affirms that the inclusion of new obligations and clauses through accession partnership would be definitively detrimental to relations between Turkey and the EU.
- The European Parliament's resolution (see yesterday's EUROPE, pp.3/4), which establishes a link between the EU's economic and financial assistance to Turkey on one hand and the Kurd problem (that Mr Cem's declaration calls the "south east problem"), on the other, is criticised by the Minister. Also referring to the EP's resolution on the Meda programme, Mr Cem's declaration states: "these initiatives of the European Parliament, which are based on incomplete information and errors of judgement, hardly reflect the constructive attitude existing on the eve of accession partnership". Mr Cem invites the Council and the Commission to take "the measures required" so that the Union honours its financial commitments. He points out he will continue his contacts along these lines.