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Turkey trying to revive EU membership
[Iran Press TV Latest] Turkey calls on the European Union to revive Ankara's deadlocked EU accession talks adding its membership would assist EU's affiliation with Muslims. EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis said the EU would need Turkey as a transit route for energy supplies. "The EU needs Turkey at least as much as Turkey needs the EU," he told reporters at the start of two days of talks and public appearances in Brussels intended to revive Turkey's efforts to join the 27-nation bloc, Reuters reported. "It will help the EU's outreach to the East," said Bagis, who is also Turkey's Chief Negotiator with the EU. This is while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu were also due in Brussels for talks with EU officials on Friday. Erdogan was expected to meet the President of the EU's Executive European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso while Davutoglu was due to meet EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. Turkey's membership talks are almost at a standstill, raising doubts that the predominantly Muslim country of 70 million people will be able to join the EU. Reforms demanded by the EU have fallen prey to political infighting in Turkey, some member states openly oppose its accession, and Ankara's progress has been blocked by its refusal to recognize EU member-state Cyprus. Posted by: Fred 2009-06-26 |
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