German Foreign Minister Urges EU to be Fair to Turkey

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has criticized the European Union in its negotiation process with Turkey, saying it should act more fairly during the accession of candidate’s negotiations to join the bloc.

The “European Union should act respectful and fair to Turkey in the negotiation process,” Westerwelle said during a visit to Turkey yesterday.

Westerwelle met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Istanbul yesterday, with Westerwelle and Davutoğlu later holding a joint pres conference.

Westerwelle said Turkey’s accession process to the EU should go on without a break.

“Once the train has stopped, it is very difficult to get it moving again. Therefore, the train should not stop and the next chapter, which is the competition chapter, should open soon,” Westerwelle said, adding that they talked about the German foundation issue during his meeting with Erdoğan.

The Turkish prime minister has accused German foundations of indirectly supporting the local administrations run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Davutoğlu corrected the question of a journalist during the press conference regarding the German foundations and said Erdoğan did not say the German foundations were financing the terrorist group.

Westerwelle said they cleared away any misunderstandings regarding the issue of German foundations. “Both German foundations and German banks are highly appreciated in Turkey,” Westerwelle said.

Source: Hurriyet