Turkey 'to embark on fast train' on EU process

ANKARA

Volkan Bozkır is a career diplomat who has spent years working on EU affairs as Turkey’s permanent representative to the EU. AA Photo

Turkey’s difficulties during the stalled EU accession process are mainly due to the negative perception that some EU member countries still have of the country, new Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkır has said.

“Which picture are they looking at? They [EU member countries] are mostly looking at the picture of Turkey from when it signed the Ankara agreement. They say, ‘What will we do with a member country [like Turkey] that has such a large population but such low prosperity,’” Bozkır said on Sept. 2.

He stressed that Turkey had seen big changes in terms of its economy, adding that past perspectives were not valid in today’s current climate. He also vowed that Ankara has left behind a period of standstill in the EU process.

“Turkey will not go back to the old days, but rather it will embark on a fast train,” the minister said.

Bozkır is a career diplomat who has spent years working on EU affairs, as Turkey’s permanent representative to the EU. He took over at the EU Ministry after Davutoğlu took over as prime minister last week.