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TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER ACCUSES EUROPE OF DOUBLE STANDARDS
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.12.2009 12:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey on Monday demanded equal treatment from the
European Union on visa requirements, as it opened accession talks
with the 27-nation bloc on one of the most extensive policy chapters,
environment, during a ministerial conference in Brussels, Today's
Zaman reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking at a press briefing
following the meeting with EU officials, said Turkey would soon take
steps to meet the bloc's conditions for visa-free travel - such as the
introduction of biometric passports and the signing of an agreement
on readmission of illegal immigrants -- and warned that the EU would
impose double standards if it still refuses to allow Turkish citizens
to travel to member countries freely.
The EU lifted visa requirements for three Balkan countries, Serbia,
Montenegro and Macedonia, over the weekend despite the fact that none
of these countries has started even accession talks with the bloc.
Davutoglu said Turkey backed the EU decision to lift the visa
requirements for Balkan nations and called on the bloc to lift visa
restrictions for citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina as
well. "But there is no excuse for why this right has not been granted
to citizens of Turkey, a country negotiating membership," he added.
"We do want to know what technical conditions must be met to freely
be able to visit the Schengen region. ... We can be ready in one to
two months and believe that the EU will have no excuse after that. If
the visa requirement is still in place despite all this, then we will
consider this as an act of imposing double standards," Davutoglu said.
"The EU doesn't say it will not accept Turkey, a Muslim country, but
it puts various obstacles to our bid. We will not burst in anybody's
life. We will remain true to ourselves. We have a huge territory
to build our house on. We will cherish our culture and national
mentality," Sabah newspaper quoted Davutoglu as saying.
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.12.2009 12:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey on Monday demanded equal treatment from the
European Union on visa requirements, as it opened accession talks
with the 27-nation bloc on one of the most extensive policy chapters,
environment, during a ministerial conference in Brussels, Today's
Zaman reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking at a press briefing
following the meeting with EU officials, said Turkey would soon take
steps to meet the bloc's conditions for visa-free travel - such as the
introduction of biometric passports and the signing of an agreement
on readmission of illegal immigrants -- and warned that the EU would
impose double standards if it still refuses to allow Turkish citizens
to travel to member countries freely.
The EU lifted visa requirements for three Balkan countries, Serbia,
Montenegro and Macedonia, over the weekend despite the fact that none
of these countries has started even accession talks with the bloc.
Davutoglu said Turkey backed the EU decision to lift the visa
requirements for Balkan nations and called on the bloc to lift visa
restrictions for citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina as
well. "But there is no excuse for why this right has not been granted
to citizens of Turkey, a country negotiating membership," he added.
"We do want to know what technical conditions must be met to freely
be able to visit the Schengen region. ... We can be ready in one to
two months and believe that the EU will have no excuse after that. If
the visa requirement is still in place despite all this, then we will
consider this as an act of imposing double standards," Davutoglu said.
"The EU doesn't say it will not accept Turkey, a Muslim country, but
it puts various obstacles to our bid. We will not burst in anybody's
life. We will remain true to ourselves. We have a huge territory
to build our house on. We will cherish our culture and national
mentality," Sabah newspaper quoted Davutoglu as saying.