egemenbagis.com

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

“YES” TO HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis periodically writes articles to newspapers and his last article was published in Haberturk daily newspaper on July 27, 2010 and there, Bagis touched the Constitutional Amendment Package and Referendum process. In his article Bagis wrote:

“The Referendum on September, 12 is an unmissable historic opportunity for Turkey to face with and be free from the grief in the recent history and also for the future image of Turkey.

12 September 2010 will be a milestone to implement national sovereignty in real terms and to render the declaration that "Sovereignty unconditionally and unrestrictedly belongs to the nation” superior.

Referendum on September, 12 will be the last blow to the understanding that regards his/her own nation as a threat and that cannot accept his/her vote as equal with the vote of a shepherd.

On September, 12 Turkey will take a step towards a new day, as Mevlânâ said: "Now is the time to say something new”. Turkish nation has never forgotten that the values and youth of this nation had been led to fall out with each other for nothing and without a reason.

Our nation has never deserved democracy’s being an exception and the extraordinary conditions deemed suitable to Turkish nation.

On the other hand, the ones who think that our nation keeps its silence against the anti-democratic actions and who say that this nation has no choice other than themselves have always been defeated and become powerless in the polls.

On September 12, 2010 the ones who want to bring Turkey back to 30 years ago will again be defeated in the poll.

In fact they know the results of the referendum already and feel embarrassed because of the contradiction caused when they call people to say ‘no’ in the referendum.

As they witness the calls for ‘yes’ in the public, they wonder about the political consequences that will affect them.

We do not doubt that the political circles calling to say ‘no’ in the referendum feel a great regret about this. We witness that the ones who have not listened their supporters are overwhelmed by this fact. Actually, even being late, they understand that there are a lot of reasons to say ‘yes’ in the referendum but there is no reason to say ‘no’.

They have recently understood that each of the articles in the constitutional amendment package will be for the benefit of Turkey and the Turkish nation.

Thus, parts that will eliminate the traces of the constitution resulting from the military coup, and get rid of its core and spirit totally are included in this package. Articles that will find solutions to the problems of Agri, Edirne, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, Bitlis, Burdur and thus, 81 provinces of Turkey are covered in the constitutional amendment package. Articles to solve the problems of our 72.5 million citizens and enable them to look confidently to the future are also included in this package. Articles that will enable Turkey to be among the 10 greatest economies of the world, reach its export objective of 500 billion dollars and accelerate its accession process to the EU are included in the content of this package to be voted in the referendum.

Likewise, the core of this package is based on the vision to strengthen Turkey’s stability and to improve democratic standards in Turkey more.

Therefore, it is beneficial to say ‘yes’. Therefore, we have a lot of reasons to say ‘yes’. And thus, we will say ‘yes’ self confidently and with inner peace.

We will say ‘yes’ to democracy on September, 12… We will say ‘yes’ to the will of change and development… We will say ‘yes’ to development, a just legal order, elimination of inequalities, and more rights for our workers and officials… We will again say ‘yes’ to enable Turkey to reach the EU standards. We will say ‘yes’ in our full unity to strengthen our national solidarity and brotherhood.

Yes… A ‘yes’ will change many things, open new horizons and bring various perspectives to Turkey. Our nation has never said ‘no’ to something that will be for the benefit of Turkey.”

Source: AA

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

THIS PACKAGE IS NOT AK PARTY’S PACKAGE, IT IS OUR NATION’S PACKAGE

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Referring to the constitutional amendment package during the meeting that had been organized by the Justice and Development Party’s Besiktas District Administration in Istanbul, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stated that this package was not Justice and Development Party’s package; it was our nation’s Constitutional Package.

Stating that in history, Turkey was governed with fear and with discriminations such as “Kurdish, Turkish, Sunni, religious and Kemalist people”, Bagis added these;

“We are all brothers on the common grounds of Turkish Republic citizenship. Why can’t we share? In a country which has all riches of the world, and where one can experience all four seasons, is there nothing more foolish than to have brother killing brother? You see that we will say, “stop” to all of these on 12th September. On 12th September, we will say ‘no’ to the people who want gangs to govern the state. We will say ‘yes’ to democracy, human rights, and rule of law. This is not Justice and Development Party’s package, it is our nation’s package.”

Bagis said that during the referendum on the constitutional amendment package, they want the support of all people who say, “ The citizens of this country and this country deserve better.”

Indicating that just 10 years ago in Turkey, people abstained from saying “I’m Kurdish”, but today a state channel broadcasts in Kurdish 24 hours a day, Bagis noted that this channel does not support separatism and rebellion but supports the integration of the state and nation. Bagis also said “ If there are some people who are still engaging in these kinds of activities today, it is time to examine whose responsibility this is, whose mistakes have contributed to this situation.”

Indicating that there were no country that had became members of the EU while retaining the constitutions drawn up during their military coup periods,

Bagis said that Greece and Spain, had tried to be members of the EU without changing their constitutions, but they had not succeeded in this and that both two countries could become members of the EU after they had amended their constitutions to achieve EU standards.

Source: AA

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

EUSG WILL EXPLAIN EUROPEAN UNION TO THE PUBLIC BY MEANS OF LOCAL PRESS

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

During the process of membership negotiations for the European Union, starting a media campaign answering the questions that the public wonders about, Secretariat General for EU Affairs will only take the local televisions and newspapers into consideration.

Short films comprising of graphical editions of the scripts will be broadcast in local televisions and the bands laid at the bottom of the page will be used on the newspapers.

The campaign will cover the answers of Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis which are based on tangible data and also the effective outcomes of the harmonization criteria.

For instance, for the first group messages started to be applied, one of the answers to the question of “What will happen when we have become a member of the EU?” will be as follows: “We will be the 6th largest economy in Europe and 16th in the world.”.

Alternative answers for the same question will point out the tangible and concrete gains of Turkey, such as: “We will be able to travel through the EU countries without passports, we will be able to study and work there!” or “Our rate of export to the EU which has increased at the rate of 476% with the Customs Union will get much higher!”.

TURKEY BELONGS TO ALL OF US

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis paid a courtesy visit to Armenian Patriarchate at Kumkapı in Istanbul.

Reminding that Mutafyan visited all EU member states without refusing their request in the period when Turkey was trying to get a date for negotiations, Bagis said that unfortunately Mutafyan’s health problems prevented him from carrying out activities to support both his community and Turkey.

Saying that he conveyed his get-well wishes to Mutafyan and his mother, Bagis implied that Mesrob Mutafyan was a leader who had strongly supported Turkey's EU membership process.

Pointing out that the Turkish Armenian Congregation had elected Aram Atesyan as the Acting Patriarch last week since Mutafyan could not carry out his duty due to his health problems, Bagis said that he paid this visit also to congratulate Atesyan.

Indicating that we should all work together, without any discrimination and regardless of whatever a person’s political view may be, for a more democratic, modernized and prosperous country, Bagis said, “Turkey belongs to all of us.”

Source: AA

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

TURKEY WILL BE A REPUTABLE AND VALUABLE MEMBER OF THE EU

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Attending the reception on the occasion of the Belgian National Day, in the residence of the Belgium Embassy, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Egemen Bagis reminded that Belgium had taken over the EU presidency 12 times and would hold the presidency again for the last half of this year. He also said that at this period the relations between Ankara and Brussels would develop further.

Bagis underlined that the relations between Turkey and Belgium were not only related to Turkey’s EU membership and he mentioned the importance of close cooperation in economic development, social policies, youth, creativity and regional issues which were on the agenda of Belgium for its presidency term period.

Bagis emphasized his belief that Turkey’s EU accession negotiations would accelerate more during Belgium’s presidency and he stated Turkey’s decisiveness to do its part to be a reputable and valuable member of the European Union.

Bagis also pointed at to the Constitutional Amendment and he stated that the date ‘September 12’ was important for Turkey at two points: one was the Ankara Agreement signed on 1963 between the EU and Turkey and the other was the military coup on September 12, 1980. Bagis declared that after the approval of the Constitutional Amendment in the referendum on September 12, Turkey would have a more transparent, reliable and effective democracy.

As regards the increasing terror terrorism in recent times, Bagis stated that they expected support from both Belgium and the EU and he concluded saying : “When everybody is not safe, nobody can be safe”.

Source: AA

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PACKAGE BRING?

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis periodically writes articles for newspapers and this time his article was published at the ‘Guest Writer’ column of the Vatan daily newspaper on July 15, 2010. In his article, Bagis gave information about the Constitutional Amendment Package.

In his article Bagis wrote:

Our nation will definitely evaluate the answer of the question: “Why does the ‘Constitutional Amendment Package’ that will impair the 12 September military coup and the resulting constitution of the military coup disturb some people?” and everybody will get the answer on September 12, 2010. Since the beginning we state that each article in the Package means the opening of a new chapter in the EU accession negotiations. Accordingly, the positive messages from the EU justify us.

EU authorities constantly state that the Constitutional Amendment Package includes modern law norms, increase democratic standards, and improves individual rights and freedoms. Then, how will the articles in the Package will function in practice and how will they affect our nation?

Content of the proposed constitutional amendments firstly focuses on getting rid of the complaints resulting from the constitution of the military coup. Unfortunately, arguments relating to the amendment of the constitution as a whole, mostly lead to the ignorance of this fact. However, when the Constitutional Amendment Package consisting of 26 articles is considered, it can be seen that the anti-democratic spirit and base of the military coup constitution have been changed substantially.

From the jurisdiction of military courts to the right of individual application, from the Ombudsman Institution to positive discrimination, from the protection of personal data to the right of collective agreement for civil servants, from granting to individuals the right to appeal against the rulings of the judiciary to rendering the higher judicial bodies more democratic, many constituents have been included in this package. To summarize:

• From now on, the difficulties that women go through will be compensated by positive discrimination.

• The state will take measures to protect children from all forms of abuse.

• Every citizen will have the right to ask for the protection of their own personal data.

• A citizen’s freedom to leave the country may be restricted only by a court decision based on criminal investigation or prosecution.

• The workers will be able to be a member to more than one trade union.

• For the first time, the public servants will be granted the right of collective agreement and the retired public servants will also benefit from this right.

• Disciplinary penalties applied to the civil servants and other public officials, will be carried out under judicial supervision.

• Owing to the Ombudsman Institution, our citizens will no more have difficulties in the courts.

• Recourse to judicial remedies will be available against the decisions of the Supreme Military Council.

• Civilians will not be tried in the military courts except in case there is a state of war.

• The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors will function at the same democratic level as their counterparts in the EU member states.

• With the opportunity of individual application, the citizens will seek their rights, in the Constitutional Court in Ankara instead of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

• The repeal of provisional Article 15, which is against the national will, remains an area that needs to be accounted for.

In 12 September 1980, we went through the most painful example of a coup which can be considered as a disaster that will cost Turkey decades. But, 12 September 2010 will be the beginning of a new process in which all these bitter memories will be replaced by a great enthusiasm, a festival of democracy will be gone through and a process in which the lost years of Turkey will be compensated.

ASHTON AND FULE VISIT ISTANBUL FOR TURKEY-EU MINISTERIAL POLITICAL DIALOGUE

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Turkey-EU Political Dialogue Meeting at the ministerial level was held at Istanbul’s Cıragan Palace with the participation of Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Egemen Bagis and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoglu.

In the meeting where Turkey-EU relations were addressed comprehensively, regional and international issues were discussed and views were exchanged about how cooperation on these issues would be advanced. In accordance with the change in the EU institutional functioning as a result of the Lisbon Treaty having gone into effect, the Turkey-EU Political Dialogue Meeting at the ministerial level has replaced the Turkey-EU Troika meetings.

The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Stefan Fule and European Council and Commission officials also attended the meeting.
This article is being translated...

Source: AA

COMMEMORATION CEREMONY FOR THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF SREBRENITSA GENOCIDE

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Commemoration ceremonies for the 15th anniversary of Srebrenitsa Genocide were held with a broad participation in Potacari where the graves of the victims lie.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his spouse Emine Erdogan, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, State Minister Faruk Celik, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Labour and Social Security Omer Dincer, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mevlut Cavusoglu, President of Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidential Council Haris Sladzic, President of Serbia Boris Tadic, President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic, President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov, President of Slovenia Danilo Turk, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, representatives and ambassadors from various European countries and thousands of Bosnians coming from different places of Bosnia-Herzegovina and from abroad attended the ceremonies.

At the outset of the ceremonies at which attendance was at Prime Ministry level from the Republic of Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan laid a wreath at the Srebrenitsa Genocide Memorial, along with presidents of states and state officials attending the commemoration ceremonies.

In respect of the ceremony, Egemen Bagis said:

“The ceremony at Srebrenitsa was very painful. On the 15th anniversary of the deaths, we buried the bones carried in about 800 bags after their DNAs were identified. I understood this: When the monster in human becomes animated, it may become very merciless.”

Source: AA

IT IS TIME FOR THE NATION TO SPEAK AND DECIDE

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said: “12 September, which is a stain on our history, will now turn into an enthusiasm. As a big coincidence, the constitution of the military coup will receive the largest blow exactly at the 30th anniversary of the coup.

Visiting Dubrovnik on the occasion of “Croatia Summit”, Bagis answered the questions of the press.

Evaluating the verdict of the Constitutional Court about the constitutional amendment package, Bagis said:

“Some people could not sleep last night since they wondered how to interpret the verdict of the Constitutional Court in favor of themselves. However, we could not sleep because we wondered how to prepare for the referendum and how to explain this amendment package to our nation. As always it is, we will ask our people’s opinion. We will explain the process. This nation has always been fair and will be fair in this issue, as well.

It is a shame for the democracy that the main opposition party, which seeks the votes of the nation, goes to law court in order to prevent the nation to decide and that they are anxious about the decision of the nation. It is a huge slight to tell the nation “you cannot see, you cannot understand”.

TGNA has not amended the Constitution. TGNA forwarded its decision about the nation’s verdict on whether to amend the Constitution or not. It is a shame to obstruct this forwarding. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court accepted to ask the nation’s opinion about the constitutional amendment package even it was unpleasant since the Court overrode its authority and interfered in the context of the article. From now on, we should focus on 12 September. 12 September, which is a stain in our history, will now turn into an enthusiasm. As a big coincidence, the constitution of the military coup will receive the largest blow exactly at the 30th anniversary of the coup.

As a reply for a question, Bagis said he was aware that the terrorism tried to create a fear atmosphere in Turkey, threatened the national unity and integrity and it had separatist desires.

About a question on the professional army, Bagis continued as follows:

“Of course, Turkish General Staff and Ministry of National Defense will inspect and question the events; they will determine the needs of Turkey. However, I think we can decide how to meet the needs in the most practical manner and how to have the most dynamical army. This may be realized within a certain calendar.”

I believe that in the short term, we should achieve the power which has received a good training in combating with the terrorism and which has the best equipment and comprises of experienced soldiers and in the long term, we should have a professional army.

Also mentioning the judicial reform, Bagis said: “We should put aside our prejudice and the government’s attempts should be taken into consideration so as to make them real immediately. Above all, we should give the best answer to those who brainwash our teens and make our children instruments for terrorism by the help of a legal system which will embrace everybody, which will factionalize nobody and will not make our citizens look for other choices”.

Source: AA

BAGIS ATTENDS THE DUBROVNIK SUMMIT

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis attended the Croatia Summit in Dubrovnik, gave a speech on “the Future Vision of Southeast Europe” and carried out bilateral talks on Turkey's EU accession negotiations.

In his speech, indicating that personal benefits should be taken into consideration instead of personal approaches in the future Europe, he said “Turkey was a part of the EU in the past and will continue to be a part of it in the future”. Bagis also pointed out the key role of Turkey in solving the problems of Europe to a large extent.

Referring to the visa exemption between Turkey and Croatia, Bagis indicated that this regulation has not posed any problem; on the contrary, it has affected the commerce and the tourism in a positive way. Bagis said: “The EU should also sign a visa exemption agreement with Turkey”

Speaking about terrorism, Bagis said “fighting against terrorism is a must” and continued as follows:

“Terrorism is the common problem for many countries in Europe. We also have it in Turkey. The European Union should be cooperative and decisive in the fight against terrorism in each country. We expect support on this issue. Nobody is in safety unless everbody is in safety.”

Then, Egemen Bagis met with the foreign ministers and the ministers for EU affairs of some countries.

In Dubrovnik Palace Hotel, where the summit was held, Bagis talked to the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Haşim Taçi; Bulgarian Foreign Minister, Nikolay Mladenov; Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt; Polish Minister for EU Affairs, Mikolaji Dowgielewicz and the Greece Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dimitris Drucas.

Throughout the negotiations, Turkey’s EU accession process and the other diplomatic topics were dealt with.

Source: AA

EUSG: “BAGIS DID NOT MEET HRISTOFYAS IN BRUSSELS”

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Secretariat General for EU Affairs announced that no meeting took place in Brussels between Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis and the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Dimitris Hristofyas as mentioned in Turkish and Greek media organs.

Regarding the issue, EUSG announced: “The press release which was claimed to be made by Hristofyas and which stated that Hristofyas conveyed via Bagis their message that they may approve the opening of some of Turkey’s EU negotiation chapters in return for Maras, and other related news delivered through Greek and Greek Cypriot media organs are totally unreal and invented.”

In the explanation, it was noted that Hristofyas’ interlocutor was the President of TRNC Dervis Eroglu and that comprehensive negotiations aimed at finding out a solution were continuing between the two leaders through direct contacts.

EUSG'S 10th ANNIVERSARY

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis released a written message for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of EUSG.

In his message, Egemen Bagis stated that EUSG, established with the Law on the establishment of EUSG dated July 4, 2000, after 1999 Helsinki Summit during which Turkey was recognised as a candidate state; was successfully fulfilling its duties especially after the recent changes in the institution.

Bagis declared that after the change in the EUSG law in 2009, Secretariat General with its new departments and dynamic personnel, made a difference in the process; and he said: “in the European Union process progressing under the leadership of our Prime Minister, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, our government has taken historic steps like the opening of accession negotiations and assignment of a Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator exclusively responsible for the EU Affairs. Changes in the Secretariat General should be considered within this framework.”

Bagis said: "We are not living in the world same as the world of ten years ago; many things have changed and are changing.” He continued as follows:

"Balance in the Turkey-EU relations is also changing. As Turkey develops, strengthens, gets richer; Turkey and EU relations are also evolving to a different point. EU member states also began to notice that an EU without Turkey is not possible. It is for sure that the responsibility of the Secretariat General is increasing as the Turkey’s EU membership gets closer. EUSG responsible for the accession process also brings up the bureaucrats who are going to take office in the EU institutions after Turkey’s accession.

I celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Secretariat General for EU Affairs which will enable the accession process to be completed at the shortest possible time and thank all the personnel working in the Secretariat General and wish their success to continue."

Source: AA

TURKEY'S EU ACCESSION IS BENEFICIAL FOR THE ALL PARTIES

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Speaking at the “Media and Economic Forum” which was held at Istanbul Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center by Turkish-Italian Friendship Union, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said that prejudice was the major obstacle in the way of Turkey’s EU accession.

Stating that people got suspicious and even frightened when they didn’t have enough information about each other, Bagis said this was the case in Turkey’s EU relations and added “We should remember that this integration would be beneficial for both parts. EU accession is not a political issue in Turkey; every party coming to power in Turkey would support the EU accession.”

Bagis stated that Italy was the country which made the highest increase in its bilateral trade with Turkey in the last 8 years and that both countries supported each other on issues of defense, international efforts and objectives.

Mentioning the terrorism incidents also, Bagis reminded that more than 20 EU-Ambassadors attended the martyred soldiers’ funeral in Van, which was a good indicator of EU’s perspective on Turkey.

Stating that Turkey needed a closer cooperation in fight against terrorism, Bagis said “Our fight against terrorism and our determination to promote individual rights is continuing. We know that nobody would be safe unless we are all safe.”

Source: AA

TURKEY SHOULD TAKE A ROLE IN SOLVING PROBLEMS OF EUROPE FROM NOW ON

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stated that when we considered the economic, political power and military facets of the countries which carried the burden of European Union, Turkey should take part in solving the problems that Europe had to cope with.

Bagis delivered a speech at the “Europe-Turkey Project 2030: Thoughts on Relationship” panel in Bahcesehir University which was held within the context of project activities titled “Istanbul in Globalizing World” and headed by Dr. Fuat Keyman and Dr. Nora Fisher. Minister Bagis expressed that Istanbul itself was such a city which was telling why Turkey should became a member of EU and that the mosques, churches and synagogues had been giving relief to people for ages in Istanbul.

Stating that one of his old friends Dr. Kalypso Nicolaidis who was a member of EU Reflection Group also attended the meeting, Bagis said that EU Reflection Group prepared a report which indicated the obstacles and opportunities of 2030 Europe, and that the report both eliminated the worries of most of people and implicitly reflected that Turkey was a great prospect for EU by considering sensitivities.

Pointing out that Europe had to encounter so much problems as it was affected from global economic crisis, it got behind the potential rivals concerning economic growth, its share in global capital was gradually decreasing, it got behind technology and R&D, it had become more and more dependent on the field of energy, it could not create new job opportunities, it needed employment but did not have a young population and it progressed too slowly to become an effective actor in the arena of foreign affairs, Bagis stated that Turkey was a key country in solving these problems and added:

“If these problems are not solved, Turkey will be one of the leading countries which will also have problems. When we consider the economic, political power and military facets of the countries that have carried the burden of European Union, Turkey should take a role in solving the problems that Europe has to cope with from now on.”

Source: AA

NEGOTIATIONS ON FOOD SAFETY CHAPTER WITH EU

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

“Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary” chapter has been opened to accession negotiations during the Intergovernmental Conference at the European Council, held with the attendance of Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Egemen Bagis; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoglu; and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mehdi Eker.

Together with the food safety chapter, Turkey has opened 13 chapters to the accession negotiations which started in 2005 with the screening process.

In the ninth meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference with Turkey organized at the ministerial level, the EU delegation was headed by Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Stefan Fule, European Commissioner for Enlargement.

Spain declared its desire to open negotiations with Turkey on four chapters, when it took over the rotating presidency of the Union six months ago. However, when it could not overcome the political obstacles of some countries, Spain exerted great efforts to open at least one chapter. Spain even broke a record by reducing the chapter opening process to ten days instead of months after Turkey fulfilled the required criteria on food safety.

Speaking at the joint press conference Bagis said: “If there are countries believing that the accession of Turkey will cost a lot to the EU, I think that it’s high time for them to consider the cost of excluding Turkey outside the EU.”

Bagis stated that there were chapters to be opened during the presidency of Belgium and he asked for the education and culture, and energy chapters to be opened during the presidency of Belgium, as Spain exerted efforts and made a great deal of progress for the opening of these chapters.

Emphasizing that he was not worried any more for the suspension of accession negotiations because of the Cyprus issue, Bagis said:

"This is because Cyprus issue also existed when England which is one of the guarantor states and which has soldiers and a military base in Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Moreover, during the accession of Greece which is another guarantor state, Cyprus issue was still present. Even during the accession of Greek Republic of Southern Cyprus itself, there was Cyprus issue. This issue had not been an obstacle for the membership of those countries, so nobody can have a clear conscience about the acceptance of Cyprus issue as an obstacle before Turkey’s membership.”

Source: AA