§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the requirement for Turkey to reform the National Security Council prior to accession to the European Union. [55698]
§ Peter HainReform of the National Security Council is one of the medium-term priorities in the EU's Turkey Accession Partnership, which sets out key elements of Turkey's pre-accession strategy. The Government continue to support the Accession Partnership as a cornerstone of the EU's policy towards Turkey. The Turkish National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis, agreed in March 2001 as a response to the Accession Partnership, commits Turkey to reviewing the relevant articles of the constitution and other legislation in the medium-term to define more clearly the structure and functions of this council.