Sweden supports Turkey's EU accession bid

By Selen Tonkus

ANKARA (AA) - Sweden pays a great importance to Turkey's EU membership, said Swedish Ambassador in Ankara Lars Wahlund, on the eve of a Turkish high-level visit to Sweden.

"It is not only Turkey who needs the EU as a reform anchor but it is kind of a safe harbour in a complicated region. Turkey’s membership is very important for EU," said Wahlund in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency. "The kind of EU we want to see is an EU with Turkey as a member."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently in Finland, will visit Swedish capital of Stockholm on Thursday, as part of his European tour. Syrian crisis, Egyptian political situation and Middle East peace process are expected to be prominent issues during the meeting of Erdogan with his Swedish counterpart, along with Turkey-Sweden bilateral ties. Erdogan's visit aims to further Ankara and Stockholm relations which has already come to a strategic level with President Abdullah Gul's visit to Stockholm in March. Erdogan's visit will also mark the 50th anniversary of first Turkish immigrant flow to fulfill the labour shortage in Sweden, which is currently home to more than 100,000 Turks.

The most important part of the Turkey-Sweden strategic relations is the revitalized EU bid of Turkey on Tuesday after the opening of a new chapter on regional policy in the EU accession negotiations. The Chapter 22 on regional policy and coordination of structural instruments has been the first one Turkey opened in the last 3.5 years in its delayed accession negotiations with the EU.

Sweden believes the Chapter 23 on judiciary and fundamental rights and Chapter 24 on justice, freedom and security have to be opened as soon as possible, the Swedish ambassador said.

"While we push the EU [to open new chapters], we also show our support with bilateral dialogue with the Turkish government," Wahlund stated.

He said that Turkey and Sweden have excellent cooperation on the topics under Chapter 23. "We sometimes have critical remarks, Turkey takes into consideration because it trusts us," he also said.

The relations between Turkey and Sweden have a history of five centuries. The two countries signed their first trade agreeement in 1737. Dolmabahce Palace's phone system has been established by Swedish Ericsson firm in 1889. Turkish-Swedish diplomatic relations continue uninterruptedly since its start in 1923.

Turkey and Sweden have perfect political relations, and Sweden is the largest supporter of Turkey's EU bid, said Kaya Turkmen, Turkey's ambassador in Stockholm. "Along with Turkish reforms, Sweden's awareness of Turkey's importance as an element of stability in its region have a great share in this," Turkmen said, evaluating the excellency of Ankara and Stockholm ties.

The trade volume between the two countries hit 3.3 billion dollars in 2012, despite the devastating effects of the global crisis on European economy. Turkey's exports to Sweden reached 1.2 billion dollars, while Swedish exports to Turkey were 2.1 billion dollars. 2012 figures show that the bilateral trade became more balanced compared to previous years. 600,000 out of Sweden's 9.5 million population visited Turkey in 2012, making Turkey the first choice of Swedish tourists last year.

"There are 250 enterprises with a Swedish connection in Turkey. But not enough. Trade and investment should increase," said Wahlund. Wahlund stated that Swedish economic policy targeted two countries, Germany and Turkey, "instead of spreading Swedish resources all over the world."

"We give priorities to 20 markets, and have only 2 in Europe to allocate more resources," Wahlund said.

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