WE ARE IMPLEMENTING OUR NATIONAL PROGRAMME

Stating that they expected Turkey to reach the EU standards in terms of its legal infrastructure, legislation, laws and constitution until the end of 2013, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said: "We are implementing our national programme. If we say this chapter has been opened to negotiations, but the other one has not, this will mean that the authority or the power has been delegated to someone else".

In his statement to the Anatolia Agency about the current situation of Turkey in the EU process, Bagis said:

"The last Progress Report reveals clearly that Turkey has made progress on all 33 chapters. the experts of the European Commission write this report and the Commissioners who are the representatives of the EU member states certify and publish it. That is to say, Turkey is going in the right direction. I believe that Turkey will be one of the most prestigious, powerful and dynamic member states of the EU in the end. The only thing that we need throughout this period is patience and determination".

Considering the past, is Turkey today much richer than the past? Yes. Our per capita income has increased eight times compared with eight years before. Have the law of Turkey, its loyalty to the democracy, its sensitivity to human rights come up the levels in the leading countries of Europe? Yes. Turkey has really taken very important steps in this regard".

Remarking that Europe must now adopt a reasonable attitude and favor the solution about the Cyprus issue, Bagis said that the isolations applied in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus were against the EU legislation and the EU member states had decided unanimously to remove the isolations on 24 April 2006.

Source: AA