ISTANBUL CONFERENCE OF MINISTRY FOR EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS

Başbakan Erdoğan İstanbul'daThe official opening of the Istanbul Conference of the Ministry for European Union Affairs titled “Common Future of Turkey and European Union Against Global Issues” was held with the participation of the Prime Minister.

The two days conference hosted by the Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis is held in Swissotel the Bosphorus. Leaders at the level of prime minister and minister from various European countries, members of the European Parliament, well known politicians, scholars and high level bureaucrats, European Commission and European Council officials, representatives of NGOs, think tanks, media organisations and the business world attend the Conference.

In the opening speech Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey continued its commitment to its EU accession and reform process. Erdogan indicated that the conference with such a broad participation was a declaration of their determinism and sincerity.

Prime Minister Edogan stated that every obstacle put before Turkey by the EU would be an obstacle before the prosperous and peaceful future of the EU itself. Erdogan said that Turkey was by no means a country to be put off and kept waiting at the door. Erdogan continued as follows:

“Turkey, with its deep rooted history and wide geography which hosted cultures and civilisations is a country which has a great representation power. The roots of most of the fundamental values of Europe lie in our geography, within the territories of our country. If Europe turns its back on Turkey it would also turn its back on its own values and historical and philosophical basis of those values as well as other aspects represented by Turkey.”

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis also made a speech and said that if Turkey today lived the most democratic, transparent, prosperous and wealthy period of its history, the reforms made in the EU accession process had a great share in that.

Stating that Turkey got rid of a 40 years calamity and brought terrorism to an end, Bagis said that necessary steps to open the Chapter in question to negotiations were taken with the support of the EU and the performances of the development agencies founded in order to minimise the income disparity between different regions of the country.