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French minister: Turkey still a ways to go in human rights, democratization
by TURKISH Daily News, 24 Nov. 2000
Posted: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 09:01 pm CST

The minister's statement comes on the eve of the European Conference Ministerial Meeting, which Turkey is participating in for the first time since 1997

Ankara - Turkish Daily News

Problems with democratization and human rights issues still constitute a problem for Turkey's EU membership, said Pierre Moscovici, the French minister responsible for european affairs, the Anatolia news agency reported.

France currently holds the term presidency of the European Union.

Speaking to the French L'Alsace daily prior to the European Conference Ministerial Meeting in Socheaux, France, Moscovici said that the nature of relations between Turkeys' military and political institutions also constitutes a problem for a successful conclusion of its bid for EU membership.

Turkey's decision to participate in this year's European Conference Ministerial Meeting marks the first time that it has taken part in the gathering after a two-year absence.

A delegation headed by Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will represent Turkey in the meeting.

Moscovici said, however, that it was a significant development that Turkey decided to participate in this year's conference, ending its two-year-long protest.

Turkey refused to attend the European Conference meetings in the wake of 1997's European Union Luxembourg summit, in which EU leaders declined to include Turkey within the proposed enlargement process. Turkey was not announced as a candidate until December 1999's Helsinki summit. In between those two summits, Turkey pursued a policy of non-dialogue with the European Union.

A statement from Turkey's Foreign Ministry said that Turkey was subject to a discriminatory approach on the part of the EU during the Luxembourg summit, in which the outlines of its enlargement policy were announced.

The changed atmosphere brought about by the Helsinki summit decision to grant candidacy status to Turkey was instrumental in Turkey's decision to participate in this year's European Conference, the statement added.

The European Conference was seen as a gesture towards Turkey in the wake of the Luxembourg summit, when it held its first meeting in 1997 in London. Yet, due to Turkey's protest, the conference has never been able to hold a meeting at the ministerial level since then.

It is meant to be a forum for dialogue among EU members, candidates and applicants for candidacy. Issues such as organized crime, environmental policy and regional cooperation in a number of fields constitute the conference's usual agenda. Proposed reforms to the EU's internal structure are also on the conference's agenda this year. The conference is being seen as a preparatory meeting on the eve of the EU's Nice summit set to be held on Dec. 7.

Foreign Minister Cem plans to lay out to the ministers at the conference Turkey's concerns regarding the EU Council's decision to include a reference to the Cyprus issue in the short-term priorities section of Turkey's Accession Partnership Document. Adding to its concerns, Greece wants to insert a reference to the issue of territorial disputes in the Aegean into the document, a move which has drawn an angry reaction from Turkey.

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