Fischer: Turkey is key for EU security

"It appeared after Sept. 11, 2001, clearly, how much a European Turkey is important for our security," Fischer was quoted as saying by the daily.

Fischer said the EU was not a religious community but a community of values, and recalled Turkey’s EU membership process had started in the 1960s. "Just like Ataturk, Turkey foresees maintaining its modernization process possible by becoming European" he said. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems determined to maintain constant progress in this direction, he added.

When asked about discussions in separate European countries on holding a refendum on Turkey’s accession to the EU, Fischer said accession talks would take 10-15 years. "All current problems can be solved. The current issue is to decide whether to start the entry talks," Fischer said. Turkey should fulfill the Copenhagen criteria and carry out all its reforms during this time, he added.

"A referendum can only appear on the agenda after the negotiating process, in a period of which all historical and political conditions would be entirely different," Fischer said.

Germany is one of the keenest supporters of Turkey’s EU bid within the union, notwithstanding main opposition Christian Democrat Union party’s leader Angela Merkel pushing her offer of "privileged partnership" for Turkey instead of full membership. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder dismissed Merkel’s offer and voiced his support for Turkey’s EU bid recently.