EC vice-president Verheugen: "We need Turkey"

The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the EU, said European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen yesterday. In an interview with German Radio Dutschlandfunk, Verheugen said, "Turkey has a great strategic importance." He added, "I'm speaking about the security of the entire region. We must consider what will happen if Turkey chooses to take another course besides having a strong place in the Western community of states. This is a great risk for us, and we had better not take it. Turkey being an EU member will help us to put relations between Western democracies and the Islamic world of the 21st century in good order."