Chirac, Schröder and Erdogan to meet on Turkey’s EU bid

The leaders of France and Germany will meet the Turkish prime
minister in October to discuss Ankara’s EU bid.

As a part of Ankara’s campaign to elicit support for its EU bid,
the leaders of Turkey, France and Germany will hold a meeting in
Berlin on 26 October. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and French
President Jacques Chirac are both strong supporters of Turkey’s
quest for EU membership.

While  Germany is  Turkey’s strongest ally in
Europe,  France remains strongly divided on the issue. Against
the backdrop of a recent opinion poll, published in Liberation,
which found that 75 per cent of the French public were opposed to
Turkey’s EU entry, Paris has decided to hold a referendum on the
Turkish bid.

In a related development, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
is scheduled to visit Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia
and Portugal in the next few weeks.

Read more with Euractiv

Ankara adopts key penal reforms

The Turkish parliament has passed a package of reforms to the country's penal code aimed at opening the way for Ankara's EU membership talks.