Erdogan: We ask for a full membership to EU
European Union-hopeful Turkey's prime minister has lashed out at European leaders for calling to grant a status for Turkey that would fall short of full accession in the Union, turkishny.com reports.
"It has been 50 years that we are waiting to join the European Union. And I shall never accept a privileged association. We ask for full membership to the EU," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an interview appeared on Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera's Tuesday edition.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have publicly expressed their opposition to the EU's enlargement to include Turkey, offering "a privileged partnership" instead of full membership.
"It is really hard to understand: I have very good relations with my European counterparts including President Sarkozy who has first told me in private to feel relaxed about negotiations under their term presidency. But then he has made a harsh statement in Sweden, and when met again after some time, he needed to make corrections to what he had said," Erdog(an told the Italian daily.
"Now we want a clear answer. There are leaders who say one thing and then claim not to have said it. We are tired of comedy."
Turkey began membership negotiations in 2005 and it has opened 11 policy chapters including one on taxation.
"The problem with the French and the German positions is not those inconsistent messages. All we ask is honesty and openness," Erdogan said.
"It has been 50 years that we are waiting to join the European Union. And I shall never accept a privileged association. We ask for full membership to the EU," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an interview appeared on Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera's Tuesday edition.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have publicly expressed their opposition to the EU's enlargement to include Turkey, offering "a privileged partnership" instead of full membership.
"It is really hard to understand: I have very good relations with my European counterparts including President Sarkozy who has first told me in private to feel relaxed about negotiations under their term presidency. But then he has made a harsh statement in Sweden, and when met again after some time, he needed to make corrections to what he had said," Erdog(an told the Italian daily.
"Now we want a clear answer. There are leaders who say one thing and then claim not to have said it. We are tired of comedy."
Turkey began membership negotiations in 2005 and it has opened 11 policy chapters including one on taxation.
"The problem with the French and the German positions is not those inconsistent messages. All we ask is honesty and openness," Erdogan said.
