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		“Partnership better than membership” for Turkey Plenary Speech - Wednesday 28th September 2005 Mr. President There are powerful arguments both for and against Turkey's proposed membership of the EU, and I haven't time to rehearse them here. For me, the key argument is one of democratic accountability. The accession of a new member state as large as Turkey would dilute the influence of all other member states, and would therefore further compromise the self-determination of the people I represent in the UK's East Midlands. For this key reason, I oppose Turkish accession. But I urge our Turkish friends to consider the proposal of Germany's Angela Merkel, for a "privileged partnership". This is not a second-best option. On the contrary, it would give Turkey most of the benefits of membership, with few of the costs. It is therefore a better deal than full membership. It is such a good option, that I should be very pleased to see my own country, Great Britain, negotiating such a Privileged Partnership with the EU, rather than full membership.