BAGIS EXPRESSES HIS VIEWS ON FUTURE OF EUROPE IN YALTA

Paying an official visit to Ukraine, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis attended the 9th Annual Meeting of Yalta European Strategy (YES) which was held in Yalta city of Crimea.

Giving a speech at the session titled ‘The Future of Europe’, Bagis talked about the importance of Turkey’s EU membership. Bagis said, “I believe that this raising of our voice here for the membership of Turkey to the EU will break down the deaf walls in the European corridors. Here (the Livadia palace) is a place which hosted the reconciliation efforts at the end of the Second World War. Today once again it is place where the European values and norms develop and flourish. Yalta hosts those leaders who have faith in peace, order and welfare of the world.”

Defending that the EU enlargement would contribute to solve Europe's current economic problems, Minister Bagis said, the EU's resistance against enlargement under the influence of its internal problems would be one of the biggest mistakes of European politics.

Stating that the EU could solve the crisis if only they looked around, Minister Bagis pointed out the importance of enlargement of the market and said that the EU had continued its development even in difficult times throughout the history.

"We are ready to share the burden of the EU and solve its problems. At this point Europe should follow a lasting and innovative strategy.” said Bagis emphasizing that the EU would be economically more competitive, socially more peaceful, and geopolitically more secure with Turkey’s membership.

Minister Bagis stressed out that Turkey was one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and kept on growing in spite of the economic crisis in Europe; and added “Our powerful growth has continued throughout the first quarter of 2012. According to the OECD data, Turkey will be Europe’s second biggest economy by 2050 which means that we will be a growing factor for the EU”.

Source : CIHAN