"ERDOGAN SEES ISTANBUL AWARD HELPING TURKEY'S EU BID
(AGE) INSTANBUL - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday a decision to make Istanbul a European capital of culture in 2010 would help Turkey's EU membership talks and bolster tourism. The European Union's selection jury on Tuesday named Istanbul, along with Germany's Essen and Pecs in Hungary, as Europe's capitals of culture -- a title which unlocks EU funds to host concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events. 'I believe the selection of Istanbul as a culture capital in 2010 will contribute greatly to the recognition of both Turkey's and Istanbul's rich cultural heritage,' Erdogan said in televised comments. 'This will have a positive effect on our EU negotiation process,' he said, adding that it would help to counter a negative image some Europeans have formed of the country. Turkey began EU membership talks last October but is not expected to join before 2015 at the earliest. Many Europeans remain wary about admitting the large, relatively poor and overwhelmingly Muslim country of 72 million people."
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