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Turkey Insists on Equal Terms in European Union
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has staked his political reputation on leading Turkey into the European Union, said Saturday that Turkey would not accept any affiliation with the union that falls short of full membership. In a wide-ranging interview in his official residence here, Mr. Erdogan rejected as "ugly" the suggestion that Turkey be offered a special partnership or held to a different standard for European Union membership than other countries. Such possibilities have been suggested in the increasingly contentious public debate over Turkey in some European countries. Mr. Erdogan, a supremely self-confident man who is both a Muslim and a dedicated nationalist, said Turkey would have no interest in being a special, marginalized case. "No member country or candidate country has ever been offered a conditional or a special membership, or a conditional or special negotiation period," said Mr. Erdogan. "It's just in the case of Turkey that these ideas come forward? That would be ugly."Posted by: Fred 2004-10-03 |
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