Turkish EU entry would be strong sign to Muslims: minister

(BRUSSELS) - Showing that Turkey has a future in the European Union would send a positive message to the whole Muslim world, the country's European affairs minister said Thursday.

"What kind of message do we want to give to the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world who have the feeling of being pushed away by the West?" Egemen Bagis said at a Brussels press conference.

"Turkey's accession is not only going to send a signal to the Turks" but to the whole Muslim world, he added, using an argument also heard in Washington in favour of Turkish EU accession.

Several EU nations, including Austria, France and Germany have opposed the the big majority Muslim nation joining the European Union and it was a key issue in several countries in the EU parliament election campaign.

"So many candidates who had nothing to do, exploited the issue for local political consumption and not only insulted Turkey but also their voters," he complained.

"More than six million Turks already live and vote in EU countries, that's more than the population of many EU countries," he added.

Turkey opened formal EU membership negotiations in October 2005. It has so far opened 10 of the 35 negotiating chapters that would-be members must successfully complete prior to membership.

The 27 EU nations have agreed in principle to open an 11th chapter, on tax laws, next Tuesday.

However progress has slowed due to Ankara's refusal to recognise EU member Cyprus, the slow pace of democratic reforms in Turkey and the hostility of some EU nations to the idea of letting them in at all.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was due in Brussels on Thursday to try to revitalise the accession process.

Bagis reaffirmed that his country wanted nothing less than full EU membership, attempting to counter calls by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a limited "privileged partnership".

"Those concepts will neither bring privilege nor partnership for Turkey," Bagis said. "Turkey will take nothing less than EU membership."

At a separate meeting with reporters, Bagis, a member of the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party), waded into the debate in France over women there wearing the burka, the head-to-toe Islamic veil.

A group of 58 French MPs are asking for a parliamentary panel to look at ways to curb the wearing of the burka or niqab, which they describe as a "prison" and "degrading" for women and contrary to French secular principles.

The Turkish minister said women should be allowed to make their own decisions on the matter.

"If the burka is imposed (on women) I am very opposed," he said.

But he added that he did support the right to free expression.

"If someone wants to express themselves by wearing mini-skirts I have no problem with that. If someone wants to express themselves by wearing a veil on their head the same applies," Bagis added.

On Monday French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned the burka as "a symbol of subjugation rather than faith" and said it was not welcome in France.