ROME
The European Union will narrow its vision if it does not allow new members within the 28-nation bloc for the next five years, a senior Turkish parliamentarian said Tuesday.
Mehmet Sayim Tekelioglu, Turkish Parliament’s Chairman of the EU Harmonization Committee, made the remarks in response to a recent statement of Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, who said that he did not foresee any expansion in the bloc for a few years.
The European Commission is considered the EU’s executive branch.
Tekelioglu told The Anadolu Agency in an interview that Juncker's statement was a sign of narrow vision.
He said that Turkey criticized the EU commission chief's statement also during the 52nd EU Affairs Commission meeting in Rome.
"The EU needs to enlarge because they are a peace project. If you don't see your organization in that way, then you are doing something wrong," Tekelioglu said.
Juncker had said in a statement published at the European Commission's website that the EU needed a break from enlargement so that it could consolidate what had been achieved.
"This is why, under my presidency of the commission, ongoing negotiations will continue, and notably the Western Balkans will need to keep a European perspective, but no further enlargement will take place over the next five years," the statement quoted him as saying.
Turkey started its EU membership talks in 2005, but negotiations entered into a stalemate in 2007 due to the Cyprus issue and the opposition of German and French governments towards its full membership.
The slow progress in Turkey’s EU accession talks has also undermined closer cooperation between NATO and the EU in the fields of security and defense.
As a candidate country, Turkey has to successfully conclude negotiations with the EU in 35 policy chapters, which involve reforms and adoption of European standards, in various policy areas for its EU membership.
Since 2005, Turkey has started negotiations on 14 chapters.
Only one chapter could be opened in the past three years, mainly due to the Cyprus issue and the obstruction by the governments of Greece and France.
www.aa.com.tr/en
