Erdogan criticises EU for dragging its feet on Turkey's bid

18/09/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday (September 16th) accused the EU of delaying Turkey's bid to join the Union. "The stronger our resolution and perseverance, the more the EU reacts with declarations and practices that kill our enthusiasm and motivation. If the EU thinks that we are some sort of burden, then let it say so. If this is the case, then you should not have ... opened up the doors," Erdogan said at a dinner with foreign diplomats. He urged the EU to adopt the same approach towards Turkey that it has for other candidates. (AFP, Milliyet, Zaman, Anadolu news agency, Hurriyet, Turkish Press - 17/09/08)