UK reaffirms its support for Turkey’s European bid

British foreign secretary urges EU to adopt more ‘open outlook’

Britain’s Foreign Minister David Miliband (left) and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (right) address a press conference after their meeting in Ankara yesterday.

By Ibon Villelabeitia - Reuters

ANKARA – Britain reaffirmed its support for Turkey’s bid to join the EU, despite opposition from leaders in France and Germany who say the Muslim country is too poor and too culturally different to fit into the bloc.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Reuters that Ankara’s full European Union membership would bring economic dynamism into the bloc, help solve its energy security problems and build closer ties between the West and the Muslim world.

“Britain is more convinced than it has ever been that the strategic decision to support Turkey’s accession to the European Union is the right one,” Miliband said late on Tuesday. “It is good for Europe as well as for Turkey.”

Muslim but officially secular Turkey began entry talks with the EU in late 2005, but Ankara’s bid faces stiff opposition from some member states due to hostile public opinion. The negotiations, expected to take many years, have also been held up by European concerns over human rights, the slow pace of reforms and by the dispute over the division of Cyprus.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, who have both long opposed Turkey’s membership, insisted this month in speeches made ahead of European Parliament elections in June that the 27-member bloc should offer Turkey a “privileged partnership” instead.

Miliband, in Ankara on an official visit, said the bloc should adopt a more “open outlook” and embrace the long-term benefits of Turkey’s membership, provided it meets all entry criteria.

“Turkey is a particular place that would benefit Europe’s energy future. That would not have been given the priority and prominence it deserves five years ago,” he said.

NATO-member Turkey has only very small oil and gas reserves of its own, but is a key energy corridor between Europe and energy resources in the Caspian Sea and the Middle East.

Opening the doors of the EU to Turkey would be a “significant bridge to the Islamic world,” Miliband said. “Turkey has a combination of a Muslim majority population and a proud democratic heritage. I think you can balance those things.”

Brussels wants Turkey to overhaul its military-inspired constitution, expand minority rights and improve restrictions on freedom of expression. Miliband said Turkey needed to speed up its EU reforms. “Everyone wants to see Turkey making strides toward reforms,” he said. “But equally we want to see a European Union that has got the right orientation and outlook, an open EU, that is something we have to work on specially at a time of economic downturn. There have been significant changes if you look at the last 30 years. I think there is a new Turkey being built. I think that the direction is clear.”

Miliband said another strong selling point of Turkey’s EU entry is its vibrant market economy. Economic activity is seen contracting by 5 percent this year due to the effects of the global economic crisis, compared to average growth of 7 percent between 2002-2007. The economy is expected to expand in 2010.