Turkey will be great asset to the EU

Reuters - "Turkey will be great asset to the EU":
BRUSSELS / 23 October 2006 / by Gareth Jones

Turkey would be an economic asset to the European Union and is sure to join
one day despite present political difficulties, the head of the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.

Turkey began EU entry talks one year ago, but officials have warned of the
dangers of a "train crash" in the next few months due to disagreements over
EU member Cyprus.

"I am not running this (negotiation) process... but I think it (Turkish
membership) is going to happen because it is in everybody's economic
interests," OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said in an interview.

"It already is happening, the benefits (of the accession process) are
already accruing for Turkey."

Turkey has seen annual economic growth averaging eight per cent over the
past few years and has begun attracting substantial foreign investment.

It has also begun aligning its laws and regulations with those of the EU,
though officials say Ankara is unlikely to join the wealthy bloc before 2014
at the very earliest.

Advocates of Turkish membership stress the benefits of guaranteed access to
a fast-growing market of 73 million people. Turkey is also becoming a major
energy hub, criss-crossed by oil and gas pipelines, and is well-placed to
help the EU fight cross-border crime and terrorism.

"I attach a high value to this process (of rapprochement), regardless of
whether Turkey joins the EU eventually or not," said Mr Gurria, who is in
Ankara to present an OECD report on the country's economy and to hold talks
with senior officials.

A former Mexican central banker, Mr Gurria acknowledged that Turkey faces
big political obstacles on its path to the EU.

Ankara is resisting EU pressure to open its ports and airports to EU member
Cyprus, saying Brussels must first lift trade restrictions against breakaway
Turkish Cypriots Turkey in the north of the ethnically divided island.

The EU also says Turkey must lift restrictions on freedom of expression,
rein in its powerful military and improve the rights of women and its ethnic
and religious minorities.

Many Europeans, including some politicians, say Turkey, a Muslim country on
the edge of the Middle East, is anyway too big, too poor and culturally
different to ever fit into the EU.

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