Turkey demands German support for EU membership as president visits

Oct 20, 2010, 14:49 GMT

Istanbul - Turkey on Wednesday demanded German support for its European Union membership.

'A strong Turkey is a stabilizing factor both for the EU and our region,' Gul said in remarks during the current official visit to Turkey by German President Christian Wulff.

During a meeting with Wulff and a group of Turkish and German businessmen in the city of Kayersi, central Turkey, Turkish President Abdullah Gul also said that the EU must stick to its promise of full EU membership for the country.

Germany, which has 3.5 million immigrants of Turkish origin, has until now argued for Turkey to be given a 'privileged partnership' with the EU.

Gul argued that Europeans must be told that 'when Turkey becomes an EU member, it won't take away part of the cake, it will make the cake bigger.'

Germany is Turkey's largest trading partner. Trade volume between the two countries in 2009 was just above 24 billion dollars.

Speaking before the German-Turkish Business Forum, Wulff said Turkey's economic track record in recent years was impressive.

'Turkey can be proud of its progress,' Wulff said.

His five-day visit comes amid a fierce debate in Germany over the integration of the country's estimated 4 million Muslims.

The president reached out to immigrants of Turkish origin in his country in a historic speech to the Turkish parliament on Tuesday.

'Our fellow citizens of Turkish origin ... are very welcome and belong to our country,' Wulff said, adding that migrants also had a responsibility to Germany. The speech was the first-ever by a German president in the Turkish parliament.

During his trip, Wulff is scheduled to attend a religious service in the ancient Church of St Paul in the historical Mediterranean city of Tarsus.

In Istanbul, he will take part in the groundbreaking of a new German-Turkish university.

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