THE EU PRESIDENCY OF THE GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION WAS NOT ONLY AN UNLUCKY TERM BUT A CLUMSY ONE

Attending the meeting of Anadolu Agency News Academy organised in Ankara, Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator gave a speech titled “the European Union Process”. 

Bagis pointed that many people had expected 2012 to be a year in which Turkey-EU relations would come to an end, but on the contrary, 2012 had been one of the most fruitful years of Turkey’s 53 year-old EU process, and a year in which the greatest number of reforms had been realised.

Moreover, Bagis stated that Turkey confidently prepared its own Progress Report for the first time in its history. He declared that the steps taken in 2012 for the reforms constituted a report of 270 pages.

Bagis said that the EU process was Turkey’s process of democratisation, transparency and prosperity. He reminded the audience that when Adnan Menderes, one of the former Prime Ministers of Turkey, applied for EU membership for the first time in 1959, the income per capita in Turkey was 400 dollars.

Bagis stated that in those times there were only 14 universities and the annual revenue from tourism was 9 million dollars. He said: “Thankfully, today there are more than 200 universities and our revenue from tourism is more than 30 billion dollars; we also broke our own record when our export revenues reached 152 billion dollars in 2012. Turkey is progressing in a different direction. However, steps taken for the reforms in the EU process have had a great effect on Turkey’s present position.”

Following his speech, Bagis replied to the questions of the students of the News Academy. A student used the term “unlucky” for the EU Presidency of the Southern Greek Cypriot Administration. Upon this Bagis said that “it was not an unlucky but a clumsy term for the EU Presidency.” Bagis said that the reason for Hristofyas' statement, tearfully expressing that his country was at the threshold of a crisis, was the unsuccessful handling of international matters by the Greek Cypriot Administration.

Bagis declared that he was hopeful about Ireland’s EU Presidency and that Ireland had significant experience in this regard because of already having held the EU Presidency for seven terms.

Source: AA