Babacan due in Brussels

Foreign Minister and chief negotiator for Turkey's European Union talks Ali Babacan is today set to visit Brussels to attend Turkey-EU Partnership Council meeting, which will announce the EU common position paper on Turkey that was passed yesterday by General Affairs and External Relation Council, composing of Foreign Affair Ministers of the member states of the EU. Speaking to reporters after meeting with his visiting Tunisian counterpart Abdelwaheb Abdallah, Babacan said that when Turkey-EU relations are considered both as part of legal and political framework, it would be natural for the EU to make comments, prepare reports and make statements regarding the developments in Turkey. Stressing that this is a common practice for all candidate countries which will continue until Turkey becomes a full member, he said, "Moreover, there are rules and standards that member countries should obey as a requirement of full membership. What we should do is to make sure that developments in Turkey are understood well in order to provide them with accurate information." He added that after reaching accurate information, it would be up to them to decide on the way of evaluation. Relations between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Tunisia were also taken up during the two top diplomats' talks.