50th EU-TURKEY ASSOCIATION COUNCIL

The 50th meeting of EU-Turkey Association Council which was established by the Ankara Agreement signed between Turkey and European Economic Community in 1963 was held in Brussels.

For Turkish side, Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator chaired the Association Council meeting which convenes at the ministerial level and which is the main decision making body between Turkey and the European Union. In the meeting, Council of the European Union was represented by Mr Nicolai Wammen, Minister for EU Affairs of Denmark who holds the EU Presidency, and the European Commission was represented by Mr Stefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood.

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to the accession process by starting his speech in Turkish and by emphasising that Turkish will be the EU’s future official language. Visa liberalisation was intensely discussed in the meeting and besides, the progress of Turkey in terms of political and economic criteria and the harmonization with the acquis were also negotiated.

Delivering a speech at the joint press conference held after the meeting, Bagis mentioned about the visas and stated: “In Turkey, it is said that ‘you get what you pay for’”. If the EU begins to approach the issue positively soon, then Turkey will rapidly fulfil the obligations on its part.  No one needs to have doubts in this respect.” Bagis added: “Before, the negotiations with the other countries lasted for approximately 3 years. If all goes well, we expect that this will not be different for the case of Turkey” Pointing that visa exemption meant a win-win case for both sides, Bagis emphasized: “I am sure that while Turkey fulfils its obligations, the EU will act accordingly with the same conscience.”

Source: Ministry for EU Affairs, AA