BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Mogherini did not specify when Turkey would become a EU member state, and noted that "some Balkan states have been negotiating [on accession to the European Union] for decades and they are still far from the accession".
"This [talks with Turkey] is the only way for us to help them [the Turks] modernize the state, observe freedom of the press… We should negotiate with Turkey soon," Mogherini told the France Inter radio broadcaster, commenting on the EU-Turkey talks on the latter's accession to the bloc.
Turkey was officially recognized as a candidate for full EU membership in 1999 before the negotiations process began in 2005. As of now, there are five countries recognized as candidates for EU membership: Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Montenegro.
