By Martin Banks - 7th July 2009
I think that no other country should join Europe
Geert Wilders
Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who won a seat in the recent European elections, has caused a storm by saying Romania and Bulgaria should "leave the EU".
Wilders, leader of the "Islamophobic" Freedom Party in the Netherlands, made his comments in an interview with Euronews.
He said, "I think that no other country should join Europe. I'm even in favour of Romania and Bulgaria [to leave] the EU. My party voted against the ratification treaty in the Dutch parliament for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria."
On Turkish membership of the EU, he said, "I'm against a federal Europe. I want us to stay independent and Holland to only cooperate in the economical framework, and I'm against the joining of Turkey.
"I've nothing against Turkey. It's a very respected ally within NATO and a good friend of the Dutch people, but I believe it's not a member of the family. A good neighbour is not the same as being a member of the family and it's an Islamic country."
In a wide-ranging interview, he also attacks UK premier Gordon Brown as the "biggest coward of Europe".
Wilders was refused entry to the UK in February on the grounds that he had sought to incite hatred with a film he made last year that equated Islam with violence and likened the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf.
In the interview, he said,"When he [Brown[ sent me away, when I wanted to enter the UK just to show a movie and to have a discussion in the House of Lords. This is the kind of leader that we have in Europe today and they should be removed and replaced by more brave leaders."
Wilders' Freedom Party won four seats and 17 per cent of the vote in the Netherlands in the elections.
However, the Dutch media has reported that Wilders himself is unlikely to take up his seat, offering instead to a candidate further down the list and preferring to remain as an MP.
Reaction to his comments was swift, with Romanian ALDE member Daniel Daianu branding Wilders as "laughable and offensive".
He said, "His comments are totally unfair. There is no doubt that both Romania and Bulgaria have serious problems but these are to do with EU membership.
"Countries like Greece and Portugal also lagged behind the rest when they joined the EU.
"These sort of narrow-minded comments do not do anyone any good," said Daianu, a former Romanian finance minister.
Euronews conducted the interview with Wilders in what is described as a "bunker-style" room of the Dutch parliament in The Hague.
This was for security reasons, it was said, because Wilders is under a special protection programme, due to his controversial anti-Koran movie and provocative anti-Muslim speeches.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.