Brussels, 21/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday in Copenhagen, the Turkish Vice President, Mesut Yilmaz, met the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to fix a date for negotiations for Turkey's accession to the European Union. Reuters reported the Vice President as saying at the end of the meeting that the recent reforms (adopted by the Turkish Parliament: Editor's note) clearly prove Turkey's desire to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria without any reservations. Mr Yilmaz added that, "Accession negotiations should be opened as quickly as possible…I am confident that under the Danish Presidency, Turkish EU relations will enter a new and irreversible phase." Mr Rasmussen declared that, "I clearly acknowledge the progress made by the Turkish government and that it is a major step forward". The Danish Prime Minister added that fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria, "is not only a question of legislation but also of implementation in practice and this is shy our final assessment will depend on the more detailed study made by the Commission in the progress report due in October".