Roland Koch, the minister-president of the German state of Hesse, said it was a mistake on the part of EU leaders to let people in Turkey believe that their country could join the EU in a few years’ time, accusing the European politicians who agreed to open accession talks with Turkey in 2005 of creating an “illusion” that also affected Turkey’s policies in the following years.According to the German politician, EU membership will not be possible for Turkey until at least a decade from now, and no one can say for sure that the country will join the EU because of the changed global and strategic circumstances. “Maybe Turkey will say it is no longer interested,” he said during a meeting with Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Cihan news agency executives at a breakfast at the Zaman headquarters.
What should be done, he said, is to let the accession talks continue and accept that the process will take a long time, with no automatic guarantee of membership. Koch, a politician from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, is a supporter of his party’s proposal of “privileged partnership,” which calls for special relations with Turkey that fall short of membership in the EU. He said the debate over Turkey’s EU membership should not be allowed to harm Turkish-German bilateral relations, which he described as “special.”
Koch, who sparked a deep controversy when he said that Germany has “too many criminal young foreigners” and that immigrants must stick to Germany’s “Christian-Occidental” culture during his campaign for re-election in 2008, said the 2.7-million-strong Turkish community in Germany further strengthens the special relationship that Turkey and Germany enjoy.
Koch said the Turkish community in Germany closely follows Turkish newspapers and television programs and therefore developments in the Turkish media interest Germany as well. Major Turkish newspapers and television corporations have special editions and stations for the Turkish audience in Germany. “Zaman’s editorial policy is guided by its respect for pluralism, democratization and support for Turkey’s accession to the EU,” Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı said.
Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş warned that Germany’s image has deteriorated in Turkey in recent years, noting that this is linked to Germany’s stance regarding political polarization in Turkish society. Abdülhamit Bilici, general director of Cihan, noted that although bilateral relations between Turkey and Germany are strong, Berlin’s position on Turkey’s EU accession process has had a negative impact on Turks’ perception of Germany.
Koch visited İstanbul after a series of talks with top Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey’s chief negotiator for EU affairs, Egemen Bağış.
