Turkey to embark fast train on EU process: EU minister

Turkey’s difficulties during the EU accession process are mainly due to the negative perception that some EU member countries still have of Turkey, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkır has said.

“Which picture are they looking at? They [EU member countries] are mostly looking at the picture of Turkey from when it signed the Ankara agreement. And they say, ‘What will we do with a member country [like Turkey] that has such a large population, but with such low prosperity,’” Bozkır said, while speaking at a meeting with the National Agency on Sept. 2.

The minister stressed Turkey has changed a lot in terms of its economy, adding that past perspectives are not valid in today’s current climate.

Ankara has left behind a period of standstill in the EU process. “Turkey will not go back to the old days, but rather it will embark on a fast train,” the minister said.

Bozkır is a career diplomat who has spent years working on EU affairs, as Turkey’s permanent representative to the EU and head of the EU secretary general.