EP's poettering: "If the AKP is closed, this will show Turkey is no longer seeking EU acession"

Speaking to reporters after a European Union Summit in Brussels, European Parliament Chairman Hans-Gert Poettering yesterday said the case seeking the closure of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had gave rise to "extraordinary circumstances." "If the AKP is closed and the prime minister banned from politics, it shows that Turkey won't want to continue its negotiation process with the EU," he argued. "Then the EU's attitude will change completely." Asked what effect Ireland's recent rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon might have on the EU enlargement process, Poettering stated that nobody in the EU is thinking of freezing Turkey's talks. Dimitrij Rupel, the foreign minister of Slovenia, which currently holds the EU presidency, called the closure case "extraordinary." "At the moment, there is no direct link between Turkey's negotiation process and the closure case of the ruling party, but when the case concludes, the trial and possible effects will be carefully assessed and then there will be an appropriate response," he added. Speaking to German daily Bild, European Union Commission Vice Chairman Guenter Verheugen yesterday defended Turkey's EU accession, adding that it is a mistake to try to paint Turkey as a closed community. "Turkey is a European Union candidate country, and is not hostage to Ireland's rejection," he said.