BRUSSELS - "EU needs Turkey very much" said Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, in his letter to Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Michel, wrote a letter to Rehn because he could not attend the European Commission's meeting on EU enlargement today. Michel took a position that fully supports Turkey's EU membership.
In his letter Michel said he is sorry "because some segments in EU do not know the difficulties Turkey is facing, (plus they) create difficulties and hamper accession negotiations."
"Europe needs Turkey. Almost all current issues show how true this is. Iran, Iraq, Middle East, oil crisis and dialogue with the Islamic world are evident examples. This is a secular and stable country in the most instable region of the world" said Michel.
The Commissioner criticized the discussions about geographical borders of EU and said "we are not geography experts, we are politicians."