EU SEMINAR FOR JOURNALISTS

In the opening speech of the seminar, which was held in Antalya Dedeman Hotel by Secretariat General for EU Affairs, titled "EU Seminar for the Press Members", Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stated that the EU accession process was one of the rarest platforms that all the different colors of this country could meet."

Expressing that everyone had different concerns and doubts, Bagis said: "the EU accession process is such a process that we leave behind all of these concerns." Emphasizing that the EU had gained a lot from Turkey's EU accession process; Bagis asserted that the process was based on "win-win" platform and they held these kinds of learning programs in order to enable this mutual process to be understood more clearly..

Pointing out that there were still politicians and citizens who were afraid of and had trouble to understand EU process, Bagis said: "These fears unfortunately take in places Europe as well. Somebody do politics on them. The communication is, therefore, significant. For Europeans to understand Turks more clearly and for us to understand Europe well, we attach importance to your contributions to the projects.

Reminding that the reaction, which was shown after the illegal intervention to the humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza in the international waters, was perceived as a change in the foreign policy, Bagis asked: "If the people who lost their lives in the ship were the citizens of another country, did the leaders of these countries remain silent?"

Bagis said "Nobody is strong enough to change the westward route of the Turkey" and he declared that Turkey had important roles in various and significant platforms in the international arena..

Source: AA