BAGIS ATTENDED THE INTERUNIVERSITY BOARD MEETING

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, delivered a presentation on "Turkey in the EU process" at the opening of the Interuniversity Board Meeting held at Bilkent Hotel, Ankara.

In his speech, Bagis emphasized the great contributions made by universities in Turkey's EU process and said "We consider the universities as the closest partner in this process".

Stating that 5.5 million Turkish citizens and nationals lived in Europe, Minister Bagis said "Whether some European institutions and people making statements against Turkey admit it or not, Turkey is a part of Europe."

"We don't claim that everything is right in the EU" said Bagis and added that it was a process of mutual harmony and interaction. Bagis said "In the context of sharing the right information, we attach great importance to your cooperation."

Emphasizing that the EU process itself was more important than its result, Egemen Bagis said integration would increase as mutual interaction and dialogue increased.

Stating that each institution had to attain the EU standards in its own field, Bagis said "We consider each rector, academician and student as our EU ambassadors."

Pointing that Turkey had to reach the EU standards in the field of law also, Bagis emphasized that the EU process was important in terms of realizing the judicial reform and added "We want to attain a legal system that nobody has any doubts regarding its independence and objectiveness."

Source: AA