Anadolu Agency
Oct 22 2004
Yakis: We Request Support Of Belgian MPs To Turkey’s EU Bid
Anadolu Agency: 10/22/2004
BRUSSELS – “We have asked Belgian parliamentarians to convince
deputies of other EU member states regarding Turkey`s EU membership
bid,“ said Yasar Yakis, chairman of the Turkish Parliamentary
Commission for Adjustment to the EU.
Yakis and accompanying delegation are currently in Belgium for a
working visit. Yakis told reporters, “we have met senators, deputies
and members of the European Parliament. We have expressed our
concerns about progress report which was published about Turkey by
European Commission on October 6th.“
Meanwhile, Sukru Elekdag, a member of the commission and a Republican
People`s Party (CHP) deputy, told reporters that leaving entry talks
open-ended would cause indefiniteness. He added, “we will have
difficulty in explaining the policies of the government to people.
This condition will affect Turkey`s foreign policy as well.“
Noting, “we are very uneasy about the possibility of permanent ban
on free movement of Turkish labor force,“ Elekdag said, “it is
against the philosophy of the Union.“
Upon a question, Elekdag and Yakis said that they wanted historians
to come together to research so-called Armenian genocide but
Armenians did not want to open their archives to researchers and
discuss them.