(ZAMAN) - After the EU-Turkey Ministerial Troika meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and European Commissioner responsible for enlargement Olli Rehn on Monday held a joint press conference in Luxembourg. Two mentioned about what Turkey was doing in terms of adopting the acquits, reports Trend.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stating that they had talked about what Turkey was doing in terms of adopting the acquits said, We have explained into details some of our reforms. There are important developments taking place in Turkey. We are on the other hand aware of our shortcomings but what is important is that our government has the will to overcome these shortcomings. This is what we are working on. We are very much aware of the principles of the EU to which we would like to accede. Therefore we are working very hard to carry on with the reforms. We are aware that these political reforms are also important for Turkish people. Democratization, transparency or freedom of expression is things that our people want, irrespective of EU's accession.
European Commissioner responsible for enlargement Olli Rehn speaking after Gul said, I highly appreciated the professionalism of the Turkish negotiating team. The screening meetings were completed last Friday. It took one year to complete the screening and I am very glad that we could achieve this result. However, the accession negotiations are not only a technical exercise but a political process. Therefore progress in the negotiations depends first and foremost on the reforms enhancing the rule of law and fundamental freedom in Turkey. I welcome the fact that the Turkish Assembly is currently discussing the so-called reform package which included a number of important laws. I trust that there will be concrete results before our regular report is published on 8 Nov.
Abdullah Gul mentioning about French bill related to Armenian genocide said, I would like to express our regret at seeing the French Parliament make that decision. This has affected negatively the prestige of France as a country where all thoughts or opinions can be freely expressed.
We hope that French State will take ht necessary measures and prevent this legislation from being made into law, that it will not take this mistake to the end, Gul added.