Erdogan, Berlusconi Discuss Turkey’s EU Membership Bid

During his meeting with Erdogan, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that Turkey was a rare example of democracy in a region where democratıc government was all but unknown. He stressed that Ankara’s recent passage of EU harmonization packages was good for both itself and Europe, adding that this proved Turkey’s desire to join the ranks developed nations. “The EU’s enlargement is a necessity,” said Berlusconi, whose nation hold’s the Union’s rotating presidency through year’s-end. “Turkey has been a member of NATO for years and is a shining beacon of democracy in a region where democracy, one of the basic pillars of Europe’s system, hardly exists.”