Turkish President says EU should first let Turkey finish the memership process

Europeans should first of all let Turkey finish its European Union membership process successfully, instead of holding debates over whether Turkey should become a full member or not, Turkey’s President Abdullah Gül said on Monday in Berlin, while ruling out formulas such as a “privileged partnership” as an alternative to full membership.

“There are conditions for membership to the EU. One of them is to complete the negotiation process, which includes the candidate country’s bringing all its standards to the level of European Union standards. There are chapter headings in this process. Turkey is currently busy carrying out reforms. I think that recent arguments as to whether Turkey should become a full member of the Union are unnecessary. First of all, Turkey should be given the chance to complete its negotiation process,” Gül said at a joint press conference following talks with German counterpart Christian Wulff.

“After Turkey successfully completes the process, the European Council will rule whether Turkey is ready to become a full member. Then, some of the member states can hold a referendum to ask their people. If one of them says Turkey would be a burden to the union, then Turkey cannot be a member of the EU. We will respect it. On the other hand, Turkish people can say that they do not want Turkey to become a member of the union on that day. But it is too early to talk about this. Completion of the EU negotiation process will make Turkey a stronger country with its democracy, legal standards and economy. And it will contribute to the whole of Europe. For the time being, we do not have any intention to give up our strategic orientation,” Gül added.