BAGIS VISITS BRUSSELS

Visiting Brussels to attend Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture activities and to hold official talks, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis met Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Rapporteur of the European Parliament for Turkey, Helene Flautre, Co-chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and Guy Verhofstadt, Leader of Liberal Group in the EU Parliament.

In his meetings, conveying to his interlocutors his discomfort with draft report on Turkey which was approved in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (EP), Bagis demanded the elimination of imbalance against Turkey through submission of proposals for amendment to the text during the voting in the General Assembly of the European Parliament next week.

Delivering a speech at a business breakfast with the press in Brussels, Bagis said, "Turkey won't sacrifice Cyprus for the EU process and it won't sacrifice the EU for Cyprus" and he stated that he was hopeful of negotiations for a comprehensive solution in Cyprus and that the international community had to support the two leaders.

Minister for EU Affairs Bagis said that EP draft report on Turkey didn't ‘facilitate but rather hampered' negotiations for a comprehensive solution in Cyprus.

Bagis also noted that Turkey really needed a new constitution which is at modern and universal standards and said, "Let all the political parties prepare their constitutional drafts. Let us see which party envisages what kind of a Turkey? Let us see how liberal and democratic a constitution which lays importance on social state can they prepare? Thus our citizens will better evaluate those political parties and Constitutional Committee in the TGNA will collect the best parts of these drafts and produce a constitutional draft suitable for Turkey."

On his visit to Brussels, addressing students at College of Europe in Bruges, and answering their questions Bağış noted that Turkey's accession to the EU would be to the benefit of both sides. Indicating that the advantages of Turkey such as its young population, its serving as an energy bridge, regional peace actor, its dynamic economy and geostrategic position also meant a solution to various problems Europe faced today, Bagis stressed that despite the slow progress of the EU membership process which has a 51-year-old history, Turkey would ‘never give up and attain its full membership target with determination and patience.'

Source: AA