A Turkish official today shrugged off indications the European Union's executive arm may not open membership talks with Turkey next week.
Deputy Prime Minister Mr Mesut Yilmaz said the European Commission, which was reported as wanting to put Turkey's bid on the back-burner, was not in a position to decide when to start EU accession talks because that was "a political decision.
"It's up to the heads of state and of government to give a date," Mr Yilmaz said, while attending a convention on the future of Europe in Brussels.
An EU source said the commission will next Wednesday recommend that 10 countries from the former Soviet bloc and the Mediterranean join the EU in 2004, but seek to put off naming a date for the start of Turkey's entry talks.
But Ankara is demanding a date be fixed after pushing through reforms sought by the EU, including the abolition of the death penalty and greater rights for ethnic minorities including the Kurds.
AFP