16/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - In a declaration diffused on the occasion of the meeting of the external relations committee (Relex) of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), on 15 September in Paphos (Cyprus) - see EUROPE 9025 - the president of the EPP Group at the CoR, Isidoro Gottardo of Italy, stresses that Turkey must recognise all 25 EU Member States. “If you want to have a negotiation, you need the two sides talking to each other. So far, it seems that one side does not want to recognise the other in its entirety. It is therefore impossible to open the negotiations”, Mr Gottardo declared, sincerely hoping that Turkey “takes this crucial step towards Europe”.