Suat KINIKLIOGLU, AK Party Deputy Chairman of External Affairs and Spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Turkish Parliament evaluated the European Parliament election in “AB Haber”:

“First of all I wish all Europeans that the elections will be beneficial. One thing needs to be highlighted: Although it is obviously not possible for us to appreciate the presence of the right wing or radical right wing in the EP there is nothing to whine about. We have to consider the weight and position of the EP in Brussels together with the European Commission and the Council of Europe.

What is essential for us is that 27 members are at the moment in favour of continuing the membership talks with Turkey. In fact not even the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus wants an interruption of the talks. Hence there is nothing to be concerned about. In the subsequent weeks and months it will be seen that Turkey will advance more quickly in doing its homework. Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen BAGIS has vitalized the process and the effects will be seen more clearly in autumn.

There is no need to regard the election results with pessimism. The low turnout of voters played a significant role in the success of the right wing. With a turnout of 60% they would not have had any chance to enter the Parliament. On the other hand we cannot ignore that such parties do have representatives in the Parliament. After all, these represent the views and sensibilities of some groups in the EU. We have to interpret this adequately. The Union’s growing demand for closing it to further enlargements and economic problems coming up with the recent credit crunch show that there are still structural problems.

What makes me really sad is the low turnout of voters. Rather than developing a vision for the future the EU merely tries to preserve what it has got. The enthusiasm for the EU seems to be lost. The belief in the EU project has been injured seriously.

We must not interpret the election results of the governing party in France wrongly. Polls show a serious decrease in the support for Mr. Sarkozy. It would be false to interpret the European Parliament election results as a confirmation of Mr. Sarkozy. The prevailing success in these elections is the success of the Greens. We have to look at that carefully. I also find the center-left’s defeat very meaningful.

The European voter raised his or her voice. From now on we want to have a harmonious working atmosphere with the EU and as I said before the main actors in our admission process are the Commission and the Council.”