Доколку не сте прочитале- обавезно сторете го тоа,а посебно обрнете внимание на дел од текстот - на :More important to me, and my country as well, is that
Turkey fulfils the criteria like all the other countries that want to join EU. If they do, I see no reason why Turkey should not be a part of the EU.”
Ahtisaari criticizes EU
A group of distinguished European politicians is likely to criticize European Union countries for hindering Turkey’s attempts to become a member of the 27-nation bloc, according to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who heads the group.
Ahtisaari, who leads the Independent Commission on Turkey,
said his group will have to take a critical look at certain EU member states when it releases its next report later this year. “In the second report, which we are going to release in September, we look into not only what Turkey does, but also at what the EU and some of the individual members are doing.
If some member states are blocking some of the major sectors, then we have to take a critical look at that. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we would be saying some critical things about Turkey and some EU member states, as well,” he said in an interview.
The Independent Commission on Turkey was formed in 2004 by a group of European policy makers to examine the challenges and opportunities presented by Turkey’s possible membership in the EU. The commission is made up of Europeans who have previously held high positions in public office. This week European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen also criticized the EU for failing to give a clear signal to Ankara on its entry prospects, saying a reduced will for reform in Ankara was not surprising because the EU’s stance led to questions in Turkey about the bloc’s sincerity.
When asked whether the fact that Turkey is a Muslim-majority nation is a hindrance for its entry into the elite club of European nations, he was quick to reply: “I would hate to live in a Europe that would not accept Turkey because it happens to be a secular Muslim state. More important to me, and my country as well, is that Turkey fulfils the criteria like all the other countries that want to join EU. If they do, I see no reason why Turkey should not be a part of the EU.”
Ahtisaari, a career diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who became the first directly elected president of Finland, has special interest in Turkey’s membership bid. It was during his term as president of the EU that Turkey was declared a candidate in 1999. Ahtisaari says he continues to believe that Turkey can one day become a part of the union.
Asked whether Turkey has moved anywhere closer to EU membership in the last 10 years, he says it has, although he adds that Turkey should have done more reforms. He is not very optimistic about Ankara being productive in reforms in the near future because of the upcoming local elections. “We produced our first report in September 2004. We had argued then that Turkey had filled all the criteria so that the EU could start the process of negotiations. I would have personally hoped that there would have been more reforms carried out. The government has appointed a new chief negotiator and I thought that this was a very positive move. But as Turkey is getting toward its elections, it is not a time when reforms are usually carried out,” he said.
Ahtisaari also points out that acceptance of Turkey in mainstream Europe has strategic importance. “It is not only the political and strategic issues that we have been discussing, but also the whole energy issue — the Nabucco pipeline. We need alternative routes. Alternative routes are important in overall energy strategy. It will send a very sad message if we say that Europe is some sort of Christian bastion and does not allow Muslim countries to join. I would rather not like to live in such a Europe. It was during my presidency that the EU accepted Turkey’s candidacy. That is why my friends asked me to chair the commission to help Turkey’s candidacy and I accepted. I felt it was my responsibility.”