ANKARA
Turkey expects fair and balanced progress reports from both the Council of Europe and the European Union, the country's EU minister said Tuesday.
"Although Turkey is one of the founding members of the European Council, it has been under monitoring since 2004 and has a lot of work to do," Mevlut Cavusoglu told journalists in Ankara during a meeting with Josette Durrieu, rapporteur on Turkey for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Terming the EU and the European Council as two different bodies sharing the same values, Cavusoglu said any kind of constructive, balanced and just criticism from EU institutions is a welcome for Turkey.
For his part, Durrieu said that despite her desire to put Turkey off the monitoring list, the country has a lot to do regarding the human rights issues and delivering the responsibilities of being a law state.
"I wish I was the rapporteur to say that Turkey needs no more monitoring," she added.
French rapporteur also said the upcoming presidential elections in Turkey will be on Europe's agenda as well.
Durrieu, who is also a member of France's Socialist Party, said far-right National Front party's victory in Sunday's European Parliament elections was very "saddening."
The EU-wide vote saw Marine Le Pen´s National Front in France taking 25 percent share of the vote, whereas President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party came third with only 14 percent.
www.aa.com.tr/en
