Erdogan urges fair treatment of Turkey's EU accession bid

During an official visit to Warsaw, Poland yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at leaders of Germany and France for opposing Turkey's EU accession bid, saying that the rules cannot be changed in the middle of the game. Speaking at a joint press conference after meeting his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, Premier Erdogan commented on recent remarks made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's, declaring that they shared a common stance regarding Turkey's EU accession and that it should be offered privileged partnership, not full EU membership. "I consider recent statements of the two leaders about Turkey's EU accession process quite unfortunate," Erdogan said. "The match has started, we're playing and the penalty rules are changing during the match. It's unacceptable." Urging EU leaders to treat Turkey's accession negotiations fairly, Erdogan said, "There are negotiation chapters and Turkey should become a full member after fulfilling the requirements of those chapters. That's the rule. We don't request full membership without fulfilling the requirements. On the other hand, I am quite sure that Turkey has fulfilled more membership criteria than most of 27 EU-states." He also stressed that such statements would not affect Turkish people's approach to the EU, asking honesty in politics. Erdogan also reiterated Turkey's commitment to the Nabucco natural gas pipeline project which is considered as an alternative supply route to reduce the EU's dependence on the Russian natural gas. For his part, Tusk said that the Union should live up to its commitments to Turkey. "We need to respect each other and also the agreements we have made," he said, adding that the EU members agreed that there would be no obstacles before Turkey's membership, once it fulfils the necessary criteria to join the Union. Turkey initiated EU membership talks in 2005, despite the opposition voiced in Germany and France. But none of these countries have blocked the talks. US President Barack Obama has also urged the EU to embrace Turkey as a full member. As part of his visit, Erdogan was also received by Polish President Lech Kaczynski, and met with Parliament Speaker Bogdan Borusewicz. Erdogan also met with members of the Turkish-Polish Businessmen's Association. State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan was also in attendance.