Brussels, 09/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, who was responsible for enlargement in the previous Commission, has strongly defended Turkey's candidacy for EU membership, believing that it is too often the subject of ill-founded criticisms and prejudices in Europe. “Europe is sending Turkey almost exclusively negative signals. We are focusing on the country's weaknesses, without encouraging it to change,” said Mr Verheugen in an interview with German weekly Bild am Sonntag, on 8 October. “This in turn leads to a growing reluctance to make the reforms we are asking for, which leads Europe to the view that the Turks will not manage to achieve (the accession criteria). It's a dangerous spiral, which threatens to lead to a major political failure,” he stressed. Mr Verheugen's remarks come after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Ankara last week, when she re-stated her personal preference for a “privileged partnership” between the EU and Turkey. Mr Verheugen, however, says that “the goal of the negotiations is full membership of the EU”. “I warn against those who, without saying as much, want these negotiations to fail. We all have an interest in a Turkey that is closely bound to the Western world, a democratic Turkey where there is the rule of law, where human rights are respected and the rights of minorities protected,” he said in the interview. (hb)