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ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, ''full membership to the EU is the volitional preference of the Republic of Turkey.''
Speaking at an international conference on ''Agriculture in Turkey-the EU Integration'', Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''agriculture is one of the most important sectors in Turkey in regard to employment and its share in the gross national product. Therefore, such an important sector will be high on agenda in our EU membership process.''
''Turkey's membership to the EU should be assessed under the alliance of civilizations and freedoms. Full membership to the EU is the volitional preference of the Republic of Turkey. Turkey wants to reach the universal political and economic standards. Our target to become a full member of the EU is a sign of our attempts to provide the Turkish people with the atmosphere of freedom and prosperity,'' he said.
Prime Minister Erdogan added, ''we are on the eve of a great structural reform process in agriculture. This process could be hard. But we will have a successful agricultural sector in the end.''