Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Tough EU message for Turkey

"Tough EU message for Turkey

TURKEY must do more to push through political reforms ahead of its planned membership talks with the European Union later this year, EU foreign ministers agreed yesterday ahead of talks with their Turkish counterpart.

The ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, called for an early signing of an agreement extending Turkey�s customs union with the EU to all new member states, saying it would be �an important step towards normalisation of the relations between Turkey and all EU member states, including the Republic of Cyprus�.

They also expressed concern about the lack of progress on religious freedom and minority rights, and called on the Ankara government to ensure full civilian control of Turkey�s powerful military."

More:Tough EU message for Turkey