HIGHLY IMPORTANT REFORMS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT IN TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP PROCESS THIS YEAR

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, and Sadullah Ergin, Minister of Justice met with Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the European Commission Responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security and Olli Rehn, Member of the European Commission Responsible for Enlargement in Brussels.

Speaking to reporters following their meetings, Bagis said that both meetings were extremely fruitful and that Vice President of the European Commission Barrot would pay a visit to Turkey the next month.

Bagis said in their meeting with Barrot, they discussed fight against illegal migration and EU-Turkey negotiations on readmission agreement and in their meeting with Rehn, they exchanged opinions on the Progress Report to be made public on October 14.

Stating that they released the National Program as 2009 begins, Bagis said: "A State Minister was appointed as full-time Chief EU Negotiator for the first time in 50 years. Our Prime Minister paid a visit to the EU Commission in over 4 years. The leader of the main opponent party paid a visit to Brussels for the first time. We were hosted by the Commission as the Presidency for the first time. The state channel started broadcasting in Kurdish 24 hours a day in a country where people were scared to say they were Kurdish 10 years before. Armenian and Kurdish radios started broadcasting; the citizenship of Nazım Hikmet was restituted. The May 1st has been declared as an official holiday. Women-Men Equal Opportunities Commission was founded in TGNA. The Kyoto Protocol has been approved. More than 500 million Euros fund has been allocated to Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) region. Important amendments have been made in the Turkish Penal Code and The Strategy documents in fight against corruption and judicial reform have been prepared.

Stating that all these were indications of the fact that Turkey continues negotiations in acceleration, Bagis said "Turkey is facing her problems and is trying to solve them just like it should be in countries of EU standards. We are experiencing a democratic expansion process. We are carrying out this process in order to let everyone feel Turkey as their own "homeland". We are trying to lay the foundations of a national union project."

Bagis said that Turkey took serious steps with Greece in order to ameliorate the problematic relations with her neighbors and made important expansions to ameliorate relations with Armenia. Bagis added that they, after all these expected a positive approach in the Progress Report of the EU Commission and that they received positive impressions up till now.

Stating that they would continue to work so that new chapters do get opened in Turkey's EU negotiations, Bagis said what is important wasn't to open chapters but to ensure Turkey's becoming a country of the EU standards.

Bagis continued his speech as follows: "I hope the chapter on environment, an issue with technical details, will get opened for negotiations in December. This I think, is one of the best proves of Turkey's determination. Aware of the fact that it would obligate some economic burdens to our country, instead of opening an easy chapter, we will open a chapter that would provide us a cleaner air and drinking water and cleaner seas.

Source: AA