Turkey and the European Union have very close bonds, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, head of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, said Monday marking Europe Day.

Meyer-Landrut told Anadolu Agency (AA) that May 9 Europe Day is seen as a day where common values ​​are celebrated in Turkey and that there is a lot of interaction between Turkey, which is a member of many EU programs, and Europe.

"Turkey is not a member of the EU, but a candidate country. Turkey has very close ties with the EU," he said.

Emphasizing that Europe Day was the beginning of the construction of Europe, the diplomat said, "Schuman launched a project to bring together the heavy industry of Germany, France and other founding member countries."

He explained that the Schuman Declaration aimed to bring the heavy industry, which had previously dragged countries into war, to bring them together in such a way that they could not fight again.

"Therefore, the main message of Europe Day is peace, democracy, cooperation and human rights. These are the values ​​we want to celebrate on Schuman's Day each year," he added.

Meyer-Landrut stated that a European can enjoy the freedoms that accompany European integration and added: "You can enjoy peace within the EU. You can also enjoy the wealth that the EU has developed over the years, but I think the most precious values ​​at the heart of this structure are freedom, protection of human rights and the rule of law."

Underlining the interest shown by public institutions and organizations, civil society and people in Turkey to Europe Day activities, he said: "Turkey is not a member of the EU, but a candidate country. Turkey has very close ties with the EU. Turkey is a member of many European programs, including, for example, the Erasmus+ student exchange programme. So there's a lot of interaction on a personal level. Therefore, it is very nice to see that Turkish people also live Europe Day with joy and accept it as a common day where these values ​​are celebrated."

The declaration, published on May 9, 1950, by former French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, set forth a project that prioritizes peace, stability, reconciliation and common interest in Europe.

The declaration aimed to prevent a possible new war in Europe, which was the scene of two world wars, by controlling coal and steel production and to institutionalize economic interests, led to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community and formed the basis of today's EU.

Turkey has been celebrating May 9 Europe Day within the context of the EU membership process and also as a founding member of the Council of Europe.

Ukraine war

A war in Europe coincided with Europe Day, which is founded based on the idea of peace in the continent. Commenting on this, the ambassador said: "Peace, democracy and human rights are at the root of European integration and the European process. And unfortunately, for more than two and a half months now, with Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, we are again seeing a war on the European continent of an unprecedented scale since the Second World War."

Noting that this is a very sad development, Meyer-Landrut said: "In this context, we need to support Ukraine and its struggle for its freedom, territorial integrity and sovereignty. This is a challenge, a freedom struggle for all of us."

Marking Europe Day, Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakcı said Sunday that Turkey's possible membership in the EU will be a great gain not only for the country and the bloc, but also for other countries around the world.

"The war in Ukraine could have been easily prevented if Turkey had become a member of the EU because deterrence is an important issue for western Europe and the West," he added.

Turkey is the country that can contribute the most to the peace, stability, economy, security, defense and energy security of Europe, Kaymakcı said and added: "We hope Turkey's EU membership process will be seen from this perspective and this process will be accelerated. Turkey's membership in the EU will be a great gain not only for Turkey or the EU but also for the world and third countries. That's why we celebrate Europe Day with enthusiasm and wish Turkey's EU membership process to accelerate."

Turkey has a long history with the union and the longest negotiation process. The country signed an association agreement with the EU's predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC), in 1964, which is regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Turkey had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. Turkey then had to wait another six years for negotiations to begin in 2005, a uniquely long process compared to other candidates. Since then, the process seems to have stalled.