Denying the Turks accession to the European Union would be "an injustice" since Turkey, as a key member of NATO, has helped ensure European security for the past 50 years
Published:
27 September 2004 y., Monday
Denying the Turks accession to the European Union would be "an injustice" since Turkey, as a key member of NATO, has helped ensure European security for the past 50 years, Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg said in interview published Sunday.
Speaking three days before the start of his official two-day visit to Spain, the Bulgarian leader told the Spanish daily El Pais: "To reject them would be an injustice. The issue is whether they meet the accession criteria."
"For 50 years, Turkey has been one of the most importants players in NATO. Turkey has a role to play in Europe. It's our neighbor. How can we tell them: You have been Europeans when you could defend us and now, no ? It's unacceptable," he added.
Bulgaria, who recently joined NATO, is itself a candidate for EU membership.
Saxe-Coburg, a former monarch who lived in exile in Spain for 55 years before returning to his country after the fall of communism, also stressed that Bulgaria "had been part of this (Ottoman ) empire (now Turkey) for five centuries."
"It's a very big neighbor with a phenomenal economic potential," he added.
Šaltinis:
turkishpress.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Kabul residents express mixed views on their country's future security ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of a withdrawal plan.
more »
The U.S Food and Drug Administration will release graphic warning labels for cigarette packages this week, to remind the American public about the dangers of smoking, moving away from the smaller print warnings currently found on cartons.
more »
Amateur video footage shows the immediate aftermath of Russian plane crash. There were 52 passengers and crew aboard the Tupolev-134 when it went down on Monday night.
more »
Israel's Arava Power Company has unveiled the country's first commercial solar field. The firm, which is investing almost $2 million on building a series of plants across the Negev desert hopes to start a "Solar Revolution" in the largely arid country.
more »
Shape-shifting robot mannequins are being used by an Estonian company to help solve one of the biggest problems for the online clothing industry - giving customers clothes which fit properly.
more »
NASA releases video of a solar flare erupting from the sun.
more »
Residents of the Argentine town of Villa la Angostura are warned to stay inside after a blanket of volcanic ash descends.
more »
An energy efficient home, measuring just 3 metres cubed, is helping people realise how to cut their carbon footprint.
more »
Remote, windswept Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean is being purged of its rabbits in a massive eradication programme designed to reverse more than a hundred years of environmental destruction.
more »
Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at the Kennedy Space Station in Florida for the last time after completing its mission to the International Space Station, as Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares for NASA’s last shuttle mission.
more »