Swedish parliamentarian: "The EU wants a secular Turkey"

The European Union wants to embrace a secular Turkey, said a visiting Swedish parliamentarian yesterday, speaking on the debate over plans to end the university headscarf ban. Susanne Eberstein, deputy head of the Swedish Parliament's EU Affairs Committee, led a delegation which met with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and State Minister Nimet Cubukcu in Ankara. Afterwards, Eberstein told reporters at the Swedish Embassy Residence, "For the EU, Turkey is a secular state today and it will also be secular tomorrow."