About us
  |  
Advertising
  |  
Contact
  |  
Get Home Delivery
  |  
RSS
  |  
Share on your site
  |  
MULTIMEDIA
May 27, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Erdoğan urges EU to clarify position on Turkey

10 December 2009 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, WASHINGTON
A half-century has passed since the European Union first engaged Turkey on the prospect of entry, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has complained, calling on the 27-nation bloc to be straightforward if they have any second thoughts on Turkey’s accession process.

Erdoğan’s message to EU leaders came in Washington as he spoke Tuesday on the “Charlie Rose Show” on PBS hours before a scheduled meeting of EU heads of state and government today in Brussels during their customary December summit.

Ruling out assumptions that candidate Turkey has been moving away from the EU recently, shifting toward the East, Erdoğan said the EU’s approach toward Turkey has not been appropriate.

“They have been keeping us waiting for 50 years,” Erdoğan said. The progress made by some countries which have become members in the meantime is less than what Turkey has achieved so far, he said: “Turkey is not going there for being a burden, but for sharing the burden. For sure, if the EU has different thoughts on Turkey’s accession, then they should be honest.”
 
Weather
City>>
ISTANBUL
Today Mon Tue
14C°
22C°
15C°
23C°
15C°
22C°
 

© Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş. 2007, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Cad. No: 6, Bahçelievler - İstanbul 34194 Turkey, +90 (212) 454 1454, +90 (212) 454 1497(fax)