EU MEMBERSHIP NOT IN TURKEY’S INTERESTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.07.2007 14:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It is difficult to be optimistic at present about
Turkey’s membership to the European Union (EU), said Vice President
of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Andrew Duff. While he
views the new Turkish Parliament as a positive development, debates
within the European Parliament give reason for doubt.

In a summer university lecture at Yeditepe University yesterday,
Duff argued that the main obstacles to Turkey’s membership at present
are Cyprus, the Kurdish problem and the opposition of several member
countries to Turkey’s accession. Membership before the EU manages
to establish a common foreign and security policy would not be in
Turkey’s interest, Duff claimed. As Turkey’s accession would expand
the borders of EU countries to Syria and Iraq, he said, the Turkish
Daily News reports.