TURKEY: Italian Prime Minister Roman Prodi visits Turkey

Italian Prime Minister Roman Prodi arrived in Ankara on Monday (January 22) for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan. Trade and business ties between two countries and also Turkey's troubled EU membership talks are at the top of the agenda of Italian Prime Minister. The Italian prime minister, referring to Turkey's bid to European Union membership, stressed the importance of being patient. "This year is an election year in Europe and in Turkey. We should understand that we should not make connection between the elections in Turkey and with its bid to EU membership. The continuation of our cooperation in the long run is a must. I think that in the long run we could reach our purposes," Prodi said. Rome has long backed Ankara's EU bid, but Prodi, a former president of the European Commission, has bee less enthusiastic than Italy's previous prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. A keen supporter of greater European integration, Prodi is aware that opposition to Turkish membership played a part in the rejection of a planned EU constitution by French and Dutch voters two years ago. Many Europeans fear Turkey, a country of 73 million people stretching from the Balkans to the Middle East, is too big, too poor and too culturally different to fit into the EU. The two leaders also signed an agreement on strategy which aimed to improve bilateral relations between two countries.

ITN Source | January 23, 2007

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