Long Branch, NJ ---- One day before the European Union (EU) is set to vote on whether to begin membership talks with Turkey, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today said Turkey must finally recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as the Republic of Cyprus, which joined the EU earlier this year.

The New Jersey congressman also praised a resolution passed yesterday by the European Parliament in Strasbourg regarding Turkey's possible talks with the EU. The European Parliament voted 407-262 to urge Turkey to "promote the process of reconciliation with the Armenian people by acknowledging the genocide" and calling on the European Council and Commission to demand that Turkey "formally acknowledge the historic reality" of the Genocide. The resolution also said that EU negotiations "presuppose recognition by Turkey" of Cyprus, something Turkey has refused to do over the past three decades since it illegally invaded and occupied the northern third of the island nation.

In a letter to Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Atzo Nicolai, Pallone, co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and a member of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, urged the EU to follow suit with similar language. The EU Ambassador from the Netherlands currently presides as president of the EU.

"I write to you today to praise the passage by the European Parliament, of three amendments linking Turkey's recognition of the Armenian Genocide and its recognition of Cyprus, to its acceptance into the EU," Pallone wrote. "These amendments to the Parliament's report on Turkey reflect European consensus, across party lines, that in order to be considered for membership into the EU, Turkey must first come to terms with its past and recognize its need to make current reforms.

"As the European Union meets to vote on whether to begin discussions on Turkey's accession into the EU, I urge you to do everything in your power to encourage the adoption of these amendments, thus upholding the same important criteria that should be met by Turkey before discussion of their EU membership can begin," Pallone continued. "Turkey must recognize the Armenian Genocide, and end its continued blatant disregard for international law through its occupation of Northern Cyprus. Only upon doing so, and thus adapting to Europe's core values, can Turkey even begin to be considered for EU membership."

The EU is expected to vote on whether or not to open membership talks with Turkey at a two-day summit in Brussels, Belgium that started today.