(Reuters) – The European Union’s refusal to negotiate with Turkey over several areas required for membership is politically motivated and has deepened Turks’ frustration, the minister in charge of accession talks said on Sunday.
The EU cannot keep Turkey indefinitely “waiting at the door” of membership, State Minister Egemen Bagis said in an e-mailed statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the date the country began formal talks on joining the bloc.
Since then, Turkey has initiated talks on 13 of 33 policy “chapters” that it must close to attain full membership. Negotiations on 17 chapters have been blocked because of Turkey’s refusal to recognise arch foe Cyprus, an EU member.
“The negotiation process is interrupted by political intrigues in a way that has never been experienced by a candidate country before,” Bagis said. “This approach is neither fair nor sustainable … The Turkish public is becoming increasingly frustrated in its drive towards the EU.”
Some opinion polls show Turks’ support for joining the EU is now less than half from about 75 percent a decade ago.
Public opinion in the European Union is mostly opposed to Turkish membership amid questions about whether a poor, Muslim country of 72 million people that lies mainly in Asia belongs in the bloc.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have petitioned against its full membership.
Bagis said such arguments “are losing their validity” as Turkey undergoes an economic and social transformation.
Economic output has tripled since 2002 and the government has dramatically expanded political and human rights, although the EU and the United States both say the government better protect freedom of speech and religion and enforce rule of law.
(Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley)
Reuters