SUPPORT TO OPEN A NEW EU CHAPTER

Visiting Santiago, Chile to attend the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)-EU Summit as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official representative, Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis participated in the opening session of the Summit.

Holding numerous bilateral meetings within the framework of the Summit, Bagis met with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Romanian President Traian Bacescu, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Cuban President Raul Castro, Argentinian President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Luxembourgian Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, Danish Minister of European Affairs Nicolai Wammen, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Portas, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Igor Luksic and State Secretary for European and International Affairs for the Austrian Foreign Ministry Reinhold Lopatka.

Support messages for the opening of new chapters in the negotiations with the EU came out of the meetings Bagis held with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. Merkel stated that she would give support for the opening of new chapters during the Irish Presidency and she would have talks with French officials on this issue and besides, Rompuy emphasized that he supported opening of new chapters and expressed the hope that the relations would return to its normal track.

Furthermore, support was expressed for visa exemption for Turkish citizens during the meetings Egemen Bagis held with Reinhold Lopatka, Austrian State Secretary for European and International Affairs and with Nicolai Wammen, Danish Minister of European Affairs.