The Guardian: Turkey Is Getting Closer To The EU

LONDON - The Guardian newspaper, one of the leading dailies in Britain, said on Saturday, ``Turkey is getting closer to the European Union (EU). The momentum now seems unstoppable.``
In an article about the relations between Turkey and the EU, the Guardian said, ``when Turkey becomes a member of the EU, it will be the EU`s most populous country, as well as by far the poorest and, most significantly, the only one where most people are Muslims.``
``Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the conservative Justice and Development party (AK Party), had faced a serious crisis when parliament in Ankara failed to adopt a new penal code. After a few anxious days in which the prime minister had to fight criticism at home and abroad, this has now been dropped,`` it said.
``The Midnight Express image of the 1970s is fading fast,`` the daily stressed.
The Guardian added, ``Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the French prime minister, was wrong when he asked whether it was wise to let the `river of Islam enter the riverbed of secularism?` The firm answer must be that Turkey is a secular state and no longer the sick man of Europe, and that the EU is not an exclusively Christian club.``
(UK) 25.09.2004