BAGIS GAVE A LECTURE IN STRASBOURG ON TURKEY-EU RELATIONS

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis went to Strasbourg to visit the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, gave a lecture to the students of the University of Strasbourg on Turkey-EU relations.

Answering the questions at the end of the lecture, Bagis, referring to the last visit of President Abdullah Gul to Paris and his meeting with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that establishment of a working group with a view to improving cultural, social and economic relations between two countries had been decided.

Indicating that the group would be headed by him on the Turkish side and by Pierre Lelouche, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, on the French side, Bagis said that the group would focus on improving the relations.

Upon a question reminding Sarkozy's views on Turkey's membership to the EU, Bagis said: "Sarkozy is a clever statesman. If he were not, he would not be at this position. He takes the views of his electorates into consideration. Removing that attitude of the French public opinion regarding Turkey's EU membership is in a sense under the responsibility of Turkey also. So, activities such as "Turkish Season in France" will help eliminate the prejudices."

Stating that Turkey had the biggest 15th economy in the world and the 6th in Europe and the most developed 4th country in Europe as regards labour power, Bagis indicated that Turkey was the key country to overcome the current problems in Europe. Bagis said, "If Europe wants to be a global actor, undoubtedly it needs Turkey.

Pointing to Turkey's role as a mediator in the region as regards the conflicts between Syria and Israel, Georgia and Russia, Pakistan and India, and Palestine and Israel, Bagis said: "Turkey is trying to put out all the fire in its neighbourhood. We have responsibilities to the future generations concerning peace and stability."

Indicating that EU accession process of Turkey was followed closely from all over the world, Bagis said that it would be a wrong message given to the world to exclude Turkey from the EU just because of the cultural difference when it has fulfilled all the criteria.

Stating that Turkey also had homework to do, Bagis said the government was determined to continue the reforms with a view to aligning the standards in Turkey with EU standards.

Bagis visited the place where the activity titled "Cafe-croissant, aussi français que turc" carried out within the framework of "Turkish Season in France" and attended the cocktail held there. In more than 70 provinces in France, Turkey is publicized through more than 400 cultural, artistic and economic activities.

Source: AA