EGEMEN BAGIS HOSTS THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GMF7

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis held a reception in İstanbul to the representatives of the German Marshall Fund. 

As a part of the first meeting of the "European Union - Turkey's Strategic Dialogue Workshop" series, GMF representatives,  head of the delegation  of the European Union to Turkey Jean Maurice Ripert and  former head of the delegation of the European Union to Turkey Marc Pierini were in Istanbul. Delivering a speech at the reception, Minister Bagis emphasized the similarity between the reason behind the GMF and the EU.

Pointing out that the German Marshall Fund was founded in 1972 through a donation of 150 million Marks from the German government as a gift for the Marshall Plan which reconstructed Europe after the World War 2, Bagis reminded that Willy Brandt's, the German Prime Minister of the time, words while announcing this donation: "Let the memory of the past become our mission of the future."

Remarking "This is how I feel about Turkey's history with the EU", Bagis said: "A 53-year past full of memories is now my duty. I am hoping that this duty will come to a happy ending and we will see Turkey becoming an EU member. And this will be a win-win."

Source: AA