Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 23, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Reforming the judiciary, adopting new anti-corruption strategies and amending laws regarding political parties are among the government’s priorities to bolster ties with the European Union, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator said Friday.
"I want to emphasize once again Turkey’s determination for full membership to the EU. Turkey has just one target and that’s full membership. Turkey will not accept any other alternative," Egemen Bağış said at a joint press conference with justice, interior and foreign ministers following the Reform Monitoring Group meeting. Bağış said the group would meet every two months to review the reforms and their applications.
Bağış denied that the reform process had slowed down and said that to the contrary, with several recent moves, the process had gained new momentum. "The reforms process has raised the level of democracy and freedoms in Turkey," he said. For his part, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the success of the reform process required strong political will and coordination among the relevant institutions.