Turkey must be given EU membership: Bulgarian PM

Throwing his weight behind Turkey’s bid to be granted a date to open accession negotiations with the EU, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg said that Turkey had been a faithful member of NATO for five decades, helping to ensure the security of Europe.
“To reject them would be an injustice,” Saxe-Coburg said. “The issue is whether they meet the accession criteria.”
Saxe-Coburg, whose country is also hopes to be accepted into the EU as a full member, said that Turkey had a role to play in Europe.
“It’s our neighbour,” he said in an interview with a Spanish newspaper. “How can we tell them: You have been Europeans when you could defend us and now, no? It’s unacceptable.”