64TH MEETING OF TURKEY-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION

The 64th Meeting of Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission was held in Istanbul.

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Besir Atalay, Minister of Interior, Lutfi Elvan and Helena Flautre, Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Presidents, Marc Pierini, the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Turkey and Joan Clos Matheu, the Spanish Ambassador to Ankara participated in the meeting held at Hilton Hotel Convention Center, Istanbul.

In the meeting, recent developments in Turkey-EU relations were addressed and views were exchanged. Turkey-EU relations along with the improvements on full harmonization with Copenhagen criteria; Turkey's energy and environment policies in the framework of harmonization with the EU acquis and regional policies in Turkey under the context of pre-accession assistance were handled in general in the meeting.

In his speech, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said while walking in its EU path in determination, Turkey and the EU have undergone some changes.

Bagis said "Turkey is no more the sick man of Europe, waiting at its door as some people believed for years; it has become one of the key countries in Europe today."

Stating that Turkey had the 6th greatest economy of Europe, Bagis said they had the economic power and production that entered the top three in many sectors and added:

"Turkey has become a sine qua non actor to shape the future of the continent of Europe thanks to its potential and dynamism. We aren't the only ones to mention this fact; the eminent persons of Europe do mention it. We find important clues regarding Turkey-EU relations when we examine "Project Europe 2030" prepared by Reflection Group and the "EU 2020 Strategy" prepared by the European Commission itself. I believe it is necessary to remind that the EU Reflection Group which was established in 2007 in order to carry out studies on the future of Europe and which is known as "Eminent Persons" in public, have made important evaluations in its recently released report."

Bagis emphasized that the report of Eminent Persons Group attached great importance to the enlargement process in handling Europe's future and the EU vision. Bagis said the mentioning of Turkey in this context put forward a very significant far-sightedness and added "The call for EU leaders to ensure the continuation of Turkey's negotiation process without any interruption and to abide by pacta sund servanda principle is an important point to be highlighted."

Bagis said EU Strategy 2020 was another report of the European Council and added that the EU, which reviewed its objectives following the failure of Lisbon Strategy which envisaged transforming the EU to a global power in the 21st century, determined a new roadmap titled Europe 2020 in the aftermath of the global crisis.

Egemen Bagis said "The most challenging issue is the prejudice in Turkey's EU process. We attach great importance to correct informing in order to get rid of prejudices both in our country and in the EU states."

Bagis said one of the most important features of Turkey's EU accession process was the steps which were taken and which are to be taken in the coming future for the improvement of human rights and democracy and for the reinforcement of rule of law.

Mentioning the energy issue also, Bagis reminded that 70% of the energy resources necessary for Europe were located at the north or south of Turkey today.

Emphasizing that Turkey was the natural partner of many important energy projects particularly of Nabucco, Bagis said Nabucco's being signed in Ankara wasn't a coincidence.

Bagis held a reception in honor of Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission members, and the co-president of the commission Lutfi Elvan held a dinner.

Source: AA