Schroeder Urges Turkey to Strengthen Democracy for EU (Update1)
Last Updated: May 4, 2005 05:20 EDT
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged Turkey to implement measures strengthening its democracy, including more freedoms for non-Muslims, as the nation prepares to start membership talks with the European Union on Oct. 3.
[...]
"We're counting on the reform process becoming reality in society,'' Schroeder said. "We know putting reforms into practice is difficult, that you occasionally meet resistance in society. But it's important that the government pushes through reforms.''
[...]
The U.S., British and German governments have called on Europe to embrace Turkey to help win the war on terror and promote democracy in the Middle East. The membership negotiations may take 15 years to complete, French President Jacques Chirac said last year.
[...]
The Turkish lira gained about 1 percent against the dollar yesterday, the biggest fluctuation of any major currency, after opinion polls showed that French voters may approve the EU's constitution, easing concern that Turkey's goal of entering the bloc may be delayed, said Lucy Bethell, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland PLC in London.
Schroeder told Erdogan that the results of referendums in European countries on the EU's treaty won't affect Turkey's chances of joining, CNN Turk television reported.
[...]
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mark Bentley in Ankara at mbentley3@bloomberg.net
{Do not sit on the sidelines, please email the reporter that you wish to hear more on Turkey's relationship with Armenia in the face of it joining the EU. Thanks}
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears on:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=a7_Kk_J8UPikClarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...].The bold emphasis is mine.
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged Turkey to implement measures strengthening its democracy, including more freedoms for non-Muslims, as the nation prepares to start membership talks with the European Union on Oct. 3.
[...]
"We're counting on the reform process becoming reality in society,'' Schroeder said. "We know putting reforms into practice is difficult, that you occasionally meet resistance in society. But it's important that the government pushes through reforms.''
[...]
The U.S., British and German governments have called on Europe to embrace Turkey to help win the war on terror and promote democracy in the Middle East. The membership negotiations may take 15 years to complete, French President Jacques Chirac said last year.
[...]
The Turkish lira gained about 1 percent against the dollar yesterday, the biggest fluctuation of any major currency, after opinion polls showed that French voters may approve the EU's constitution, easing concern that Turkey's goal of entering the bloc may be delayed, said Lucy Bethell, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland PLC in London.
Schroeder told Erdogan that the results of referendums in European countries on the EU's treaty won't affect Turkey's chances of joining, CNN Turk television reported.
[...]
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mark Bentley in Ankara at mbentley3@bloomberg.net
{Do not sit on the sidelines, please email the reporter that you wish to hear more on Turkey's relationship with Armenia in the face of it joining the EU. Thanks}
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears on:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=a7_Kk_J8UPikClarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...].The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 4:11 PM
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