Turkey's friends in EU raises voices in favor of accession

Raising voices for Turkey's European Union accession at a time when the process appears to be approaching a breaking point, top British and Swedish officials are saying Turkey's EU membership would strengthen the 27-nation bloc,. "Membership for Turkey would enhance Europe's economy, strengthen Europe's influence and offer Europe the opportunity to extend and entrench democracy, human rights and the rule of law through modernizing and reforming Turkey's political and economic structures in harmony with European institutions and European values," Britain's Minister for Europe David Lidington said at a meeting in Austria on Tuesday, where there is strong public opposition to Turkish membership. Lidington said Turkish membership would help Europe's long-term prosperity and make the EU a weightier actor on the global stage. Turkish membership could also make a real difference on tackling security and terrorism issues, helping to combat the radicalization of Muslim communities within Europe, and the EU reaching out to the Islamic world, said Lidington. According to him, Turkey could offer a model to the Middle East as demands for reform grow in this region, something that would boost the EU's credibility there. "Today in North Africa and in the Middle East we hear the demand of a new generation for political reform," he said, adding, "At such a time I would far rather the Islamic world, and particularly the young people of the Arab and the wider Muslim world, looked to Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan as their model political leader rather than to a Mr. [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad [Iran's president], and a Turkish voice in EU decision-making would give us far greater credibility in our dealings with our North African and Middle Eastern neighbors." Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt echoed Lidington during a speech yesterday in the Swedish Parliament. "When it joins the EU upon fulfilling all the necessary criteria, Turkey will bring more power to the EU," Bildt was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. Both Bildt and Lidington stressed the importance of finding a solution to the Cyprus issue, with Bildt saying that a settlement will strengthen stability in the eastern Mediterranean and remove obstacles to more effective EU-NATO cooperation.