SAMSUN (AA) - Turkey may be ready to join the European Union (EU) nine years later, Hansjoerg Kretschmer, the Head of Turkey Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey, said on Friday.
Kretschmer, who is visiting northern city of Samsun, told a press conference that political developments in the EU raised Turkey's concerns about membership.
Turkey may be ready to join the EU nine years later. There is no need to feel excited or concerned at the moment because many changes may be seen in political lives in both EU member states and Turkey in this time, said Kretschmer.
Recalling that the EU Constitution was rejected by France and the Netherlands, Kretschmer said despite the results of these two referenda, EU is still alive and will survive. It will continue its integration in coming years. he added. The outcome of these two referenda naturally caused disappointment, but these results have nothing to do with Turkey's accession bid, said Kretschmer.
REFORMS ARE FOR TURKEY
Noting that reforms to be made by Turkey on the road to accession to the Union would be beneficial for Turkey, Kretschmer said that economic and political stability would be assured with these reforms, and this would be for the benefit of not only Turkey, but also the EU.
You are a politically important country. And, at the same time, you are a giant economic power. Therefore, any political or economic instability will not be for our benefit, said Kretschmer.
AGRICULTURE AND FINANCE
Asked on which topic Turkey would have the most difficulty during negotiations with the Union, Kretschmer said that countries which had giant agriculture sector faced difficulties in this area.
Maybe, agriculture can be one of the topics in which Turkey may have a difficulty. When we consider the number of people working in agriculture in Turkey, we see more people than those working in the same area in all 25 member states, indicated Kretschmer.
Kretschmer also said that Turkey might also face some difficulties in area of finance.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS
Answering a question on problems caused by missionary activities in Turkey, Kretschmer argued that such activities in a country like Turkey, the majority of the population of which was overwhelmingly Muslim, did not pose any threat.
Kretschmer said that 99 percent of Turkey is Muslim and there is only a small non-Muslim minority. They don't pose a threat for the social structure of this country. This matter should not cause any problems, and religious freedoms should be implemented in line with EU standards, he added.
EU IS NOT PERFECT
Pointing out that the EU had some problems within itself and it had not completed its political progress yet, Kretschmer said that Turkey's membership depended on this progress.
EU is not definitely perfect. For instance, it is still working on foreign policy and foreign security policy. As you know, the aim of the EU Constitution is to strengthen the integration in the specific areas we mention. There is economic unity and single market, but political unity has not been completed yet. You may have noticed this before the Iraq war. Therefore, Turkey's EU membership depends on further progress in formation of political unity, added Kretschmer.
2005-06-10