Turkey warns EU becoming 'Christian club'

[Gerald]

Turkey's deputy prime minister complained on Saturday that the European Union was becoming an inward-looking "Christian club", slamming a lack of progress in his country's bid to join.

Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos that included EU President Herman Van Rompuy, Ali Babacan said: "We always thought the EU is a big peace project... but then the enlargement process literally stalled.

"Open door policy is no longer there," he added.

"And one of the big themes about why Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union is because it is a Christian club. This is in our view very, very dangerous," he said.

Beyond this, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed opposition to Turkey's bid.People in the Islamic world are looking closely at the EU to see whether it will open its doors to Turkey, said Babacan, also economy minister.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110129...c-5268574.html

Note: 2011.01.29