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| Erdogan pushes Germany for EU entry support |
| Berlin, 04.11.2011 |
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| Turks feel let down by Germany, said their prime minister Wednesday, as Turkey pursues a slow-moving bid for membership of the European Union and urges more support.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was visiting Berlin to mark the 50th anniversary of an agreement that brought Turkish workers to West Germany — laying the foundations for a large immigrant community.
Erdogan told reporters, in a joint news conference following talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, that although Germany has supported Turkey in its bid to join the EU, “in the future we would like to have a very different kind of support.”
Turkey’s EU bid faces skepticism among many Germans, who argue the cultural differences between the Muslim nation and its European neighbors are too profound. Merkel has argued for it to be granted “privileged partnership” rather than full membership.
She pledged German support for Turkey’s bid again on Wednesday, but not in concrete terms.
“We made it very clear from our side that we can imagine that the next chapter should be opened if the criteria are met,” Merkel said. She did not elaborate further on what that chapter could entail.
In an interview with Germany’s top-selling Bild daily that appeared ahead of the ceremonies, Erdogan said that German politicians “should do much more for Turkey’s EU accession, because it would push forward massively the integration” of Turks in Germany.
“Because we Turks feel so many positive things about Germany, we feel let down here,” he told the paper.
There are some 3 million people of Turkish origin in this country of 82 million. Around 700,000 of them carry a German passport. While many are fully integrated, others speak German poorly and tend to stay within large Turkish-speaking communities.
Erdogan was quoted as saying that he would “naturally prefer it if all 3 million could be dual citizens.” That is something Germany generally doesn’t allow for non-EU nations — a position that was underlined by the country’s interior minister.
“I think that those who say, yes, we want to stay in Germany — with all the consequences, with all the need for integration, should apply for German citizenship,” Hans-Peter Friedrich said on ZDF television.
“And then they are not Turks any more — I think one must make the decision at some point in one’s life, and I think that’s right.”
Erdogan joked in his remarks during the formal ceremony that his government would gladly allow any Germans wishing to take on Turkish citizenship to become dual citizens. The Turks in the audience all laughed; Merkel and Friedrich did not.
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