Former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio spoke in Istanbul at a conference on democracy and inclusion organized by EuroMeSCo and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), arguing that Türkiye's geographic position between Europe and Asia makes it a strategic asset for the continent rather than an outsider.
Sampaio expressed long-standing personal support for Türkiye's EU membership, citing the country's presence in Europe since the 14th century and its historical role as a European policy actor. He also cautioned that conditions in the Mediterranean and the Arab-Islamic world since 2001 were dangerously unstable, and he acknowledged a separate crisis within Europe itself stemming from the pace of recent enlargement.
Finnish parliamentarian Liisa Jaakonsaari, chair of her country's Foreign Affairs Committee, rejected the notion that democracy belongs exclusively to Western societies and called on the EU to maintain an open-door membership policy toward willing candidates.
Turkish Minister of State Mehmet Aydin warned that security priorities often come at the expense of democratic freedoms, and he criticized certain recent EU decisions for undermining pluralistic democracy. He noted that migrant communities in particular face harsher conditions as even opposition parties in some member states adopt stricter stances on the issue.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.