Turkey close to be EU member - Minister

Today, Turkey is closer to full membership in the European Union than ever, Anadolu Agency quotes Turkish Minister for EU Affairs, Egemen Bagis as telling reporters on Thursday.

"Turkey has strongly sought EU membership for 11 years. Today, we are very close to it," Bagis said.

Bagis said that today Turkey is not inferior to EU member states either in the economic or political or socio-legal terms.

The foundation for Turkey-EU relations was established in 1964 by the signing of an agreement in Ankara. According to the EU statement, the Copenhagen criteria adopted in 2002 was a basis for Turkey's membership in the European Union.

Since 2002, Turkey has carried out major political and economic reforms in line with the Copenhagen criteria. Negotiations on Turkey's EU membership began in 2005 and continue to the present day.


/Trend/