Istanbul
Member of European Parliament Joost Lagendijk stated that although Turkey would meet the criteria and enter European Union, it would never become a Denmark or the Netherlands, adding that Turkey still would contribute the EU well.
Speaking at the dinner after the conference "Common Future for Turkey and European Union in Face of Global Issues", organized by Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, Lagendijk said that Turkey's actual membership to EU had started in late 1990's in the eyes of Europe, adding that Turkish businessmen who filed lawsuits for visa applications related to the Ankara treaty, obliged EU to reconsider its visa policies.
He said that Europe started to remark that Ankara treaty did not consist of a simple piece of paper, which was Turkey's start of EU membership.
Lagendijk underlined that Turks living in Europe more specified the image of Turkey than the Turks living in Turkey and said, "Europeans' mind change after they visit Turkey. If we had the chance to bring all Germans to Turkey and let them pass one week in Turkey, the debate on Turkey in Germany would end. They would remark that Turkey was a developed and democratic country. As it is impossible to bring 60 million Germans to Turkey, we need to present Turkey's achievements to Europe, gained in last ten years."
Meanwhile, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Deputy Chairman responsible for Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu noted that the biggest issue of Europe was itself, saying that Europe and especially EU received serious criticisms from inside.
"Europe's problem today is its leadership and vision," Cavusoglu said and added that both the political and economic crises in Europe revealed as a result of these.
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