Friday, December 31, 2004

The Journal of Turkish Weekly:Turkey: EU talks should be free of preconditions

"Turkey: EU talks should be free of preconditions
Turkey's influential National Security Council, which includes top political and military leaders, on Thursday welcomed a European Union decision to start membership talks with the country but said the negotiations should not include preconditions.

EU leaders, in agreeing to start membership talks with Turkey earlier this month, imposed tough conditions, including that Turkey steps toward recognizing divided Cyprus.

With many EU countries fearing a possible influx of Turkish labor, they also reserved the right to consider restrictions on freedom of movement of workers and caps on farm aid subsidies - moves many here see as discriminating against Turkey. "

More:The Journal of Turkish Weekly