INAUGURATION OF THE SECRETARIAT GENERAL FOR EU AFFAIRS' ISTANBUL OFFICE

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis attended the inauguration ceremony of EU Center's Istanbul Office. Located in Ortakoy, Besiktas, the EU Office would be shared by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Secretariat General for EU Affairs.

During the ceremony in which Prime Minister Erdogan and Bagıs delivered speeches, Prime Minister Erdogan said to realize Turkey's aim of exceeding the level of contemporary civilizations, the EU accession was a crucial process and added that he believed the Office would be beneficial and make important contributions to the EU process.

Prime Minister Erdogan said, "Turkey is no more the sick man of the 19th century. She is the active and dynamic actor of the 21st century" and added that they were aware of the responsibilities the EU membership would bring to Turkey and that Turkey wouldn't be a burden for the EU but take the burden. Mentioning the Alliance of Civilizations, Erdogan said "The world longs for global peace today. The world pursues the Alliance of Civilizations, not the clash of Civilizations".

Stating that, as the government, their biggest target was the European Union membership Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said "We have made the EU process, which has been continuing with ups and downs for half a century, a real and reachable target."

Stating that the center inaugurated in Istanbul would be a place for the people living in Istanbul to share the common ideals of future, Bagis said "Istanbul, which I'm honored to represent, is the mirror of Turkey. Istanbul is the center for tolerance and dialogue."

Stating that Turkey's accession wouldn't only transform EU into a global actor, but also to a civilization project of the 21st century, Bagis continued his speech as follows:

"What connects Turkey and Europe isn't the 110000 paged-EU acquis, but the common values shared by our cultures. For this, I always remind my European friends the fact that Turkey's EU accession process is closely followed by not only our 72 million citizens or by 1.5 billion Muslims but by a very large human population who worries about the clash of civilizations, no matter on which continent or culture."

Emphasizing Turkey's strong determination about the EU process, Bagis said "Our reforms are the reflections of our determination" and continued as follows:

"Turkey has succeeded in realizing a further economic and democratic level than most EU countries. Today Turkey is a wealthier, more democratic and dynamic country compared to 7 years before. And now, we are taking and would continue to take very important steps with our democratic initiative process which we call as the project of national unity and brotherhood. We actually consider the EU negotiations as one of the greatest democratic initiatives of our history. AK Party and our Prime Minister is the greatest guarantee of the process in which Turkey integrates with the West, democracy develops in Turkey and the Turkish people attain the living standards they deserve. Using the democratic powers Turkish people have granted us, we carry Turkey to a further and perfect future."

Bagis celebrated the 75th anniversary of Turkish women's gaining the right to vote and to be voted in his speech.

After the speeches, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis and his wife Beyhan Bagis, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Governor of Istanbul Muammer Guler and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas cut the ribbon and inaugurated the Istanbul Office of the Secretariat General for EU Affairs.

Source: AA