Greek Consul General backs Turkey's EU bid

Speaking at a panel on 'Cultural Values between Turkey and the European Union', Greek Consul-General in Istanbul Dr. Alexis Alexandris said that, "Turkey's membership would add a novel touch to the bloc's cultural mosaic." Alexandris went on to talk about how Turkey and Greece are brothers culturally and historically, noting that it was the capitalist movement that had empowered nationalism which was responsible for the Greeks secession.Drawing attention to the fact that Muslims and Christians had lived in peace for centuries during Ottoman rule, Alexandris said that the accession of Turkey into the EU would not cause any cultural problems with regards to this issue. Reiterating his stance on the issue of Muslim Christian relations, the Greek Consul-General commented on the Muslims already living within the EU: "Thousands of Muslims live in Europe." He also talked about the accession of Romania and Bulgaria which have a large population of Muslims that have been wlecomed into the EU.Commenting on the process of Greece entering the EU Alexandris said that there had been some problems of nationalism while entering the EU bloc because Greeks are a very patriotic nation as are the Turks, but that as proven that differences of countries and national identies may exist within the EU Bloc.Â