Brown and Miliband joined British constituents of Turkish descent in London late on Monday, where they assessed developments in Turkey, particularly in the last several years, and reiterated their support for its bid to join the European Union. Parliamentary Undersecretary of State Chris Bryant as well as British deputies to the European Parliament Richard Howitt and Mary Honeyball accompanied them during the event, at which Turkish Ambassador to the UK Mehmet Yiğit Alpogan was in attendance.
“I want to congratulate Turkey for the excellent change and progress it has realized in recent years. Let me tell you once again that we support Turkish membership in the EU. We will do everything we can to make it real in the years ahead of us. You are now listening to a friend who earnestly believes that Turkey’s place should be in the EU,” Brown said.
Miliband added that the process of change in Turkey is also beneficial for Europe, stressing that they will continue supporting the Turkish government in its domestic reform efforts. “The progress of Turkey, which is proud of its past, the secular state and the Muslim population on the way to modernization and becoming a social state governed by the rule of law is highly significant for everybody,” he stated.
Bryant spoke at the meeting and commended the Turkish economy’s performance. “Turkey is no longer the sick man of Europe. It has been showing this for [a long time]. It has now the 16th largest economy in the world and is expected to elevate its position in 10 to 15 years,” he said and added that the EU should certainly accept Turkey as a full-fledged member.
