‘Turkey will not Shrink EU’s Pie’
Gul, speaking at the closing session of the NATO Youth Summit, emphasized that Turkey believes it has fulfilled the Copenhagen Criteria. "If a nonobjective, unjust decision is rendered this will affect the EU in the long term," warned Gul. "The EU will lose its credibility. It will not be able to become an organization that plays a crucial role in the world."
Gul reminded that the EU countries are aware of Turkey’s richness, capacity, modernity and values. "I do not assume that an opportunity like this can be missed subjectively."
Gul indicated that Turkey is doing its best to ensure that October’s EU Improvement Report is positive and added that he was proud of being part of a reformist government.
The minister cautioned that a negative answer form the EU would reverberate through Turkey with statements like, "They do not accept us whatever they do."
When a student asked if the EU would be receptive to a shift in the balance of power if it allowed Turkey to join, Gul replied, "It has been wrongly believed that the EU’s pie will shrink with Turkey’s membership. To the contrary, it will become bigger and we will share in this pie just like the other countries. If Turkey joins the EU, the Turkish economy will certainly contribute to the EU’s economy. Turkey’s young population will bring dynamism to the EU."
Gul then went on to say that when Turkey joins the EU, Turkish citizens would not flood Europe; instead, nearly two million Turkish émigrés would return to Turkey because they have been unable to obtain the citizenship of the countries where they are currently residing.
When asked if the NATO summit had met Turkey’s expectations, Gul said, "Of course it did. Even with a billion dollars you could not have promoted Turkey in such a way. Even if we look at it from only this perspective we see that Turkey profited handsomely."
