EDIRNE - Austrian Ambassador to Turkey Marius Calligaris said on Monday that most of people living in Turkey supported Turkey's European Union (EU) membership, adding that if the united Europe was desired, Turkey should be included in it.
Together with Erika Teoman Brenner, who has been acting as consul for commercial affairs at Austrian Consulate General in Istanbul, Calligaris paid a visit to Edirne Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ETSO) Executive Board Chairman Bulent Alamut.
Speaking at the meeting, Calligaris stressed that Turkey was already a European country having European characteristics even in the Ottoman Empire era.
Calligaris noted that if the united Europe was desired, Turkey should be included in it. He said that the EU could not be completed without accession of Turkey.
Reminding that Turkey had fulfilled a series of serious reforms in the previous two years, Calligaris said that Turkey would seize an important chance of becoming a member of the EU if the government maintained its determination to put these reforms into practice.
Meanwhile, Alamut said in his part, ''while we have been expending great efforts to fulfill EU criteria, we consider insistence about terrorists meaningless. Those who are responsible for killing of 35 thousand people in terrorists acts cannot be forgiven.''
Calligaris responded him saying that Austria was also against terrorism, and added that condition of amnesty for terrorism was not included in the EU criteria at all.
(UK-AÖ) 27.10.2003