No to Turkey in EU

I refer to the letter Impressions Of Turkey (July 26). It was very interesting to read the opinion of a Turkish citizen about Turkey's EU membership bid.

I will make it very clear from the beginning that I am against Turkey's membership in the EU for both economic and cultural reasons.

Cezmi Arslan said that even though Maltese and Turkish people have different cultures and religions, there are still many similarities between the two. He said that both Maltese and Turks like to complain about their respective governments. Is there any democratic country in the world where people do not criticise the government? I don't think so. Be it in Malta, Turkey, Germany, the Philippines or the US, you will always find people complaining about bureaucracy.

I'm sure that Turkey is a wonderful country. I'm also sure that the Turkish people are very friendly. In fact I met a few people of Turkish origin and they were all lovely persons. However, these things do not affect my judgement when it comes to deciding whether I'm in favour of Turkey's EU membership application or not. When (it's better if I say if!) the Maltese people are called to make up their mind about Turkey's membership application, they will have to put Malta's interest first and foremost. I was (and still am) in favour of Malta's entry in the EU.

However, I expect to have every right to say no if something affects my country badly.

Malta will inevitably be affected badly if Turkey joins. Turkey is a big developing country which will take a large sum (billions of euros for sure) of EU funds. This will surely reduce Malta's share of EU funds. If Turkey joins, Malta will end up as a net contributor to the EU budget. This will have tremendous repercussions on our economy which is already not performing well.

I would like to thank Mr Arslan for his positive comments about Malta and the Maltese people. I wish him and his country a lot of good fortune. However, not at the expense of my own country. That's why I believe that when the time comes a referendum on Turkey's application should be called and the Maltese should vote in their national interest. I'm all in favour of trade and diplomatic relations with Turkey. However, EU membership should not be an option for this Mediterranean neighbour.