EGEMEN BAGIS GREETS EID AL-ADHA

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis participated in the exchange of greetings on the occasion of Eid al-Adha at AK Party’s Istanbul Provincial Directorate and Besiktas, Kadikoy, Atasehir and Beyoglu District Organizations.

In his speech that he made during the programme organised by the Istanbul Provincial Directorate in Sutluce, Bagis mentioned that Turkey observed Eid al-Adha enthusiastically and he said “Turkey welcomes Eid-al-adha by defeating the terror problem, applying the most effective economic programmes of the world, sharing the most assertive democratisation and transparency package with its citizens, becoming more powerful day by day, starting to build the third bridge for Istanbul and making preparations for Istanbul’s third airport.”

Indicating that they would carry Turkey to a brighter future together, Bagis said “Our motto is clear. Don’t give up, keep going on. I hope we will demonstrate a different understanding both in Istanbul and in 81 provinces. We have much to do.”

Replying the questions of journalists regarding the Progress Report, Bagis said “When the EU indicated that they would publish the Progress Report on the second day of the Eid al-Adha, we explained them that Eid al-Adha is a religious holiday in Turkey just like Christmas time in Europe, and we requested them to publish the Report 2 days before or after. Mutual respect, tolerance and empathy require this. Unfortunately they couldn’t convince the Member States and thus, change the publication date. As a consequence, we took a decision in this respect. I won’t make a statement about the Progress Report until the end of Eid al-Adha. Instead, I will make a comprehensive assessment afterwards.”