Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Bülent Arınç addressed the Swedish parliament on Tuesday, arguing that Türkiye's Muslim majority has never stood in the way of its membership in Western institutions and should not be treated as an obstacle to European Union accession.
Arınç pointed out that Türkiye was a founding member of the Council of Europe and joined NATO in 1952, defending Western freedoms throughout the Cold War, without its religion ever being called into question by allies.
Speaking of Sweden, he praised the country as a champion of democratic values and said all Swedish parliamentary parties back Türkiye's full EU membership, a base of support he described as growing despite opposition from some quarters.
Arınç welcomed the formal opening of accession talks on 5 October 2005 and urged the EU, under Austria's presidency, to begin negotiations on at least two chapters. He argued that Türkiye's entry would expand the bloc's strategic reach across a broad arc from the Balkans and Caucasus to the Mediterranean and the wider Middle East.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.