| | | |
Speaking just before he wound up a five day fact finding visit to Turkey, EU Commissioner Guenter Verheugen praised Turkey for the progress it had made in meeting the Union’s membership criteria but said that some issues still needed to be fully addressed.
“It is important to restore stability in Southeast Anatolia,” Verheugen said. “It is necessary to set up a strategy to give back the cultural rights I saw a very good start about this issue. Broadcasting in mother tongue and education in different languages have started. Especially the education in Kurdish language has started. It should be pursued.”
It was also important to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people in the region and to eliminate disparities, said Verheugen.
The Commissioner said that it was apparent that Turkey was very determined to push its bid to join the EU, and its progress would be reflected in the progress report the EU Commission is to release next month.
“The progress report on Turkey will be published on October 6th as planned,” he said. “Now I am returning to Brussels. I am sure that Turkey is really determined. Our assessment will be neutral. We will assess the progress that Turkey has made, but we will also underline its deficiencies. Implementations until today are very successful. The EU has undertaken an important catalyst role in Turkey’s democratisation and modernisation.” | |
