Fischer: "Turkey's political performance is a success story"

Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer yesterday hailed Turkey's recent political performance as a success story. Appearing in Brussels as head of a new commission set to generate recommendations for the European Council, Fischer said, "With its recent reforms and developments, Turkey has gained a completely different mentality compared to the previous five years. Five years ago, if someone said that we would see a Turkey like this, we would think this irrational. This is a success story." In related news, Turkey's State Minister and Chief EU Talks Negotiator Egemen Bagis told reporters in Brussels yesterday, "If the European Union freezes Turkey's accession talks, this would be a serious mistake. Turkey has become the world's 16th-biggest economy and Europe's sixth-biggest without even joining the EU."