ANKARA - Following are the highlights from today`s Turkish daily SABAH. The Anadolu Agency is not responsible of opinions expressed or the context of the editorials and does not vouch for their accuracy.
In an interview with Turkish daily Sabah, Vural Oger, a member of the European Parliament and the European Parliament`s Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that "Turkey`s train to EU" would stop if the country`s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party was closed down.
Commenting on how the relations between Turkey and EU would be affected in case of a closure, Oger said, "Turkey`s opponents in the European Parliament are expecting AK Party to be closed down. Because, in case of a closure, they will submit proposals aiming to stop Turkey`s negotiations with the union".
Such a development would hamper Turkey`s EU process, Oger said. "The country would lose a significant amount of time if the party is closed down. If such a thing happens, certain countries may put reservations on the new files to be opened on Turkey as well," he added.
"Closure of an elected party consequent to a decision by the jurisdiction is not an acceptable thing for Europe," Oger said.
He said that he would quit politics if Turkey`s negotiations were stopped. "Because, I dedicated myself to Turkey`s EU membership," he said.
Oger also said that the closure of AK Party might have negative consequences.
"Turkey would experience a political and economic chaos. The capital inflow to Turkey would stop and the existing investors would run away from the country," he said.
"If negotiations stop, the Kurdish issue would become insoluble, fundamentalism and nationalism would be on the rise," he added.
Oger said that Turkey`s EU bid should not be used as a tool of domestic politics, as it was an important matter beyond political parties and a significant project that would affect the country`s future.
(DO-MS)