merlin

JTW News


Joseph Daul, head of the Committee on Agriculture of the European Parliament, said late Wednesday that Turkey's membership in the European Union is inevitable owing to its geostrategic location.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency during his visit in Edirne, Daul said he had organized the visit to monitor the situation and developments in Turkey during its preparations for its negotiation process with the EU.

Daul stated that he had met with Turkish Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Mehmet Mehdi Eker and that the development of Turkey's agrarian economy was a source of amazement to him.

Daul underlined the problems that were initiated by the 10 new member states ofthe EU as of May 2004 and said, "The negotiation processes with the last 10 new members developed quickly. The EU will face different problems with the [future presumed] membership of newcomers such as Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. Those 10 members were very important in political terms. But the EU had difficulties adapting them to EU policies. But Turkey's membership is inevitable."

Daul noted that negotiations between Turkey and the EU are set to begin on Oct 3 and stated that both sides will begin to know, understand, and agree with each other slowly and will achieve integration during this process.

Daul also warned the EU states not to make Turkey's membership a tool for domestic political debate.

He stated that agriculture in Turkey is close to the European standards in technical terms and added, "More than 40 percent of Turkish citizens are dealing with agriculture. But the priority should be given to the development of rural regions and some arrangements should be made for the agricultural lands and development of farmers."