Erdogan challenges EU to be “world player", not “Christian club”

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/October/theworld_October41.xml§ion=theworld

ISTANBUL - Turkey’s prime minister challenged the European Union on Sunday to be a “world player” rather than a ”Christian club”, as the bloc deliberated whether to open formal membership negotiations with the largely Muslim country.

“The picture ... will be very telling, not just for the future of Turkey but also for that of the EU,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a conference of his Justice and Development Party in the northwestern spa resort of Kizilcahamam.

“Either the EU will decide to become a world force and a world player, which would show its political maturity, or it will limit itself to a Christian club,” Erdogan added, in an address broadcast by the CNN Turkey TV station.

The prime minister described the decision on opening formal accession talks as a “test” of the bloc’s commitment to the values of pluralism and democracy.