EU Elections made Ankara anxious
"The Turkish prime minister [...] has called on the EU to stick to its commitments on Ankara's EU accession" says Elitsa Vucheva from EU Observer. "We are witnessing a picture after the [European] elections that everyone interprets as negative in terms of Turkey's [EU] membership," declared recently Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Turkey is feeling the chilling breeze emanating from the European elections last weekend, which has prompted alarm bells ringing in the country. Media, and the political establishment are caught in the hype alike," continues The Sofia Echo."The direct impact of the E.U. parliamentary election is that a majority of conservative Europe opposes Turkey being granted membership to the European Union. Thus, the election has reduced the number of parliamentarians supporting Turkey's membership aspirations. Therefore, Turkish political observers believe that the country has suffered a major setback," notes The Jamestown Foundation quoting Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
"The presence of radical anti-Islamic parties in the new European Parliament will not affect the relations with the countries in the EU Eastern Partnership, but may complicate Turkey's entrance to the Union," says Trend News quoting European analyst Antonio Missirol.
Therefore, "the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, believes that Turkey-E.U. relations cannot be altered to reflect fluctuations within the E.U. parliament. "No matter who is elected, we should continue to maintain our position, which is determined by documents signed in the past," he affirmed in Anadolu Ajansi," explains The Jamestown Foundation.
"Turkish newspapers [...] screamed "All We Needed was More Racists," "Europe forms a blockade," and "European dreams shattered."Abdullah Gul however revealed a more calm and sobering statement, as he refused to be caught in the middle of the whirlwind. "The important thing is to abide by the rules and legal precedents set in the course of relations between Turkey and the EU," he said, according to Zaman."People who voiced opposition to Turkey today might change their position later… What matters is the opinion of the Turkish and European public," he added, "concludes The Sofia Echo.
More on the matter:
-Philileftheros (Greek)
