WITH EURONEWS, TURKISH WILL BE ONE OF THE LANGUAGES OF EUROPE

Speaking at the conference in Fazil Say Conference Hall, Bahcesehir University, Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis made remarks on Turkey's EU membership process.

Stating that Czech Presidency approached positively to Turkey's EU membership process and adding that they could not display a great performance due to the distresses they were going through, Bagis said:

"Turkey, even in such turmoil, managed to persuade 27 EU member states to open the taxation chapter. There was Swedish Presidency in the second half of 2009 and during that period we opened the environment chapter which can be considered to be equal to 4 or 5 chapters. The steps we have taken in the environment chapter will enable Turkey to raise its standards. We adopted, as a rule, better air quality and a better balance of nature. We arranged a schedule for this. We banned the use of diesel in city centres.

Bagis said: "We sometimes hear that the EU process paused and it slowed down. This argument could be true for 2007-2008. One has to ask the reason. Bagis noted the following:

"In 2007 Turkey went through 4 separate elections. In 2008, the ruling party which, one out of two voted for faced a closure case that lasted for 8 months. Even in this period, we witnessed the change of laws such as 301, TRT Law and the Law on Foundations. But I do not agree with the claims that the reforms slowed down in 2009."

Bagis stated that in the first day of 2009, national program had been published in the Official Gazette and added that every step that was going to be taken till the end of 2013 was written there. Bagis emphasized that a minister responsible for Turkey's EU accession process had been appointed on 8 January.

Reminding that, after four years, on 16 January, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went Brussels and met with the President of EU Commission Barosso, Bagis said for the first time in February, the leader of the main opposing party went to Brussels and put forth positive statements regarding Turkey's EU membership.

Egemen Bagis emphasized that for the first time throughout the history of Turkish Republic, negotiations had been carried out at President level and TRT-Ses had started broadcasting and the citizenship of Nazim Hikmet had been restituted after 40 years. Bagis said: "Every year, on May 1, Turkey was going through an atmosphere of violence and strain. For the first time, May 1 was celebrated differently. For the first time the Kyoto Protocol was ratified this year."

Stating that TRT and Euronews had signed an agreement, Bagis said that TRT had been among the shareholders of Euronews. Bagis stated that a ceremony was going to be held on 29 January and he added that as of that date, the Turkish channel of Euronews was going to start broadcasting and therefore, he continued, Turkish would be one of the languages of Europe. Bagis said that, with that share, two representatives of TRT would be the founding members of the Euronews.

Bagis stated that a fund that was over 500 million had been transferred to the Southeast region of Turkey the previous year and therefore the development level of that region had increased.

Source: AA