Oymen: Turkey Cannot Be Excluded Due To Religious And Cultural Reasons

VIENNA - Meeting of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in Austrian capital ended on Saturday.
Speaking at the closing session of the meeting, Republican People`s Party (CHP) deputy chairman Onur Oymen said, ``some Christian democrat political parties in Europe object to Turkey`s EU membership due to religious and cultural reasons. On the contrary, socialist political parties support Turkey`s EU bid. Turkey cannot be excluded from the EU due to such reasons.``
``The draft statement of the PES refers to membership of Bulgaria and Romania, but it does not talk about Turkey and Croatia. It can cause some misunderstandings,`` he warned.
In response to Oymen, Hannes Swoboda, Austrian member of the European parliament, said that they supported Turkey`s EU bid.
Meanwhile, after warning of Oymen, Turkey and Croatia were included in the minutes of the meeting.