BAGIS RECEIVES THE FORMER FRENCH MINISTER OF JUSTICE

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis received the former French Minister of Justice and member of the European Parliament Rachida Dati in Ortakoy Office of the Secretariat General for EU Affairs and stated that Turkey would continue to progress in the reform and negotiations process.

Stating that Turkey was progressing decisively in this process and they attached great importance to communication, Bagis said that 9 May Europe Day was celebrated in the European capital cities and also in Ankara probably with the greatest enthusiasm.

Indicating that accession process was as important as the membership itself, Bagis said that Turkey needed motivation in order to keep that process alive and expressions such as "privileged partnership" would make Turkish people lose their confidence in the EU.

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said he was pleased that German Prime Minister Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy avoided using the term "privileged partnership". Bagis stated that Turkey's membership to the EU was a gain not only for Turkey but also for the EU.

Bagis said that the entire Muslim world and the third world countries supported Turkey's EU membership and none of those countries indicated that they would be troubled by the membership of Turkey to the EU. Bagis stated that Turkey's EU membership was important for those countries also.

Underlining that Turkey attached great importance to its relations with France, Egemen Bagis pointed out that the adoption of the Direct Trade Regulation in the EP would give acceleration to the Cyprus negotiations.

Rachida Dati who is also the consultant of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, indicated that ongoing reform process in Turkey would make contributions to the EU accession process and Turkey's developing economy and achievements in foreign policy matters were important and it should continue to follow that course.

Source: AA