Austrian President: "Turkey's EU bid must continue"

On the eve of President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Vienna, Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said his country favors the continuation of the EU membership process for Turkey, with an increased focus on substantive issues. He also reiterated the Austrian government’s position that accession negotiations are open-ended, meaning that they will not automatically lead to membership.” It is important that negotiations with Turkey continue. Nobody denies that the process will be a long and difficult one. Austria fully endorsed the launch of official membership talks with Turkey. The only chapter that has been closed in the course of negotiations happened during our presidency,” Fischer said in an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman. The Austrian president also rejected charges of xenophobia and Islamophobia, saying, “We do not tolerate any kind of discrimination, including xenophobia.”