Road towards EU long and difficult: Turkish PM

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Ankara on December 18 that the road to EU is certainly long and difficult for Turkey.

Erdogan made the remarks at a celebration held in Kizilay Square of Ankara one day after the European Union (EU) set Oct. 3, 2005, for Turkey to start membership negotiations.

Hailing EU's decision as a success for Turkey, Erdogan said Turkey and its people should at the same time be aware of their responsibilities to make more progress on the road to a full EU membership.

Erdogan added that the future of Turkey would be bright.

The EU and Turkey reached a historic agreement on Friday to start accession talks on Oct. 3, 2005, after a last-minute haggling over Ankara's relationship with EU member Cyprus.

However, the 25 EU members said talks would be open-ended with no guaranteed outcome.

Source: Xinhua