preenchimento obrigatório
10 Junho 2010
Turkey: Is it Europe or Asia? Asks Mário David MEP
"Today, the Republic of Turkey started the Chairmanship of CICA, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, with a Summit in Istanbul. I praise the increasing international role of Turkey in different areas be it as a NATO Member, as a mediator in the international scene as we just witnessed in the Iran nuclear case and as a trusted partner in energy supply. "
But it is time for our Turkish friends and their authorities to decide to where they belong: is it Europe or Asia.
We certainly live in a globalized world but one can not say, at the same time, that it wants to belong to the European Union, even if only 3% of its territory it is in Europe and its capital it is in Asia, and then convey an international Conference of Asian Leaders to the European city of Istanbul.
One can not seriously apply for membership of the European Union, and at the same time becomes the presidency and the engine to enhance and deepen the strength of an international organization which leitmotif is "Constructing Cooperative Security in Asia"!
It is time to clarify where Turkey stands!"
