Italian foreign minister calls for reinforcement of Turkey's European perspective
ISTANBUL
Italy's Foreign Minister Emma Bonino expressed her support for Turkey's EU accession talks in a statement today. AFP photo
Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino has called for the doors on Turkey's accession to be kept open as the European Union prepares to decide whether to delay the negotiations on June 24."It is not the time to close the doors on Turkey's European perspective but rather, if anything, the time to reinforce it, opening the chapters both on regional policies as well as on fundamental rights and justice," Bonino said today in a statement.
"If we had opened those in the past, today we would have more effective leverage in our dialogue with the Turkish authorities."
Bonino also noted that Europe had a "historical responsibility" regarding Turkey and complicating the integration process would be mistake. "Tomorrow we will have a Europe less credible on the international scenario," she said, as Berlin is putting pressure to halt the opening of a new chapter that was set to bring momentum to the accession talks.
"It is necessary to bring dynamism to the negotiation process, and not to yield to an impulsive hardline position toward the Turkish authorities' line of action," Bonino also said.
Germany's recent insistence on halting the negotiations has prompted a huge reaction in Ankara.
