MINISTER FOR EU AFFAIRS AND CHIEF NEGOTIATOR EGEMEN BAGIS COMMENTED ON THE EP REPORT ON TURKEY

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis commented on the European Parliament's (EP) Report on Turkey during his official visits in Prague and he said that the approval of the report on Turkey with the votes of 528 Member States affirms the accession process of Turkey.

Bagis recalled that in the report, there are some references to the recent reform initiatives in Turkey and he added: "Even if the report does not take whole of Turkey's sensitivities into consideration, it is a document that can be useful in Turkey's reform and membership process."

Bagis said that he welcomed the blocking of efforts to include 1915 incidents in the report, which were not directly related to Turkey-EU relations.

Bagis declared that it is good that the efforts to dilute the terrorist identity of the terrorist organisation PKK also could not find support in the report. He added: "The report emphasizes the importance of consultations and cooperation between Turkey and EU institutions regarding the Customs Union and the Free Trade agreements."

Bagis recalled that in the report, there is a call for the Commission and the Council to open the chapters ready for negotiation as soon as possible; and he also added that he welcomed that the issues regarding the publication of the National Programme, equality among men and women, and the launch of TRT-6 were mentioned in the report.

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