"COUNTRIES ACHIEVE A SOUND PROCESS WITH THE EU CRITERIA"

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator gave a speech on "the EU and Turkey's membership" in the monthly meeting of Women Entrepreneur Association of Turkey (KADIGER) at the Women Development Center and said that he regarded the EU as Turkey's "dietician" and added "27 countries became more democratic, more prosperous and respectful of human rights by implementing the EU criteria."

Bagis said, since he took over the post of chief negotiator, he held meetings with more than 600 non-governmental organizations consisting of people from various backgrounds, from people supporting different sexual preferences to the ones dealing with religious matters. He added that he held the second meeting with approximately 400 non-governmental organizations which dealt with issues regarding women only and that the contributions of non-governmental organizations had a very significant place in the accession process.

Mentioning the studies regarding women in the recent period, Bagis said that Women-Men Equal Opportunities Commission was founded in TGNA for the first time and that this commission had a highly significant power enabling it to bring to the agenda whichever draft law regarding women and to change the wrong interpretations in the legislation. Bagis also talked about the legal amendments made in order to prevent violence against women and added that revisions were made to eliminate the inequalities in the labor law.

Speaking about the Progress Report, Bagis said "If Turkey had no deficiencies in the report, then we would have already become a member of the EU. Perhaps the women would understand it better; I regard the EU as Turkey's dietician. We all know that in order to lead a healthy life, we should all pay attention to what we eat and exercise regularly. But once we see a dietician and follow the prescriptions, then we become healthy. 27 countries became more democratic, more prosperous and respectful of human rights by implementing the EU criteria."

Reiterating the determination of full-membership and mentioning the common enthusiasm, Bagis said "The countries achieve a sound process with the EU criteria. It is a project guaranteeing our future and our children's future."

Source: AA