IF TURKEY IS TO BECOME AN EU MEMBER AND ATTAIN EU STANDARDS, THIS WILL BE ENSURED THROUGH WORKING TOGETHER

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis participated in the meeting which was organised by General Directorate of Foundations and the purpose of which was to inform the community foundations about Foundations Law (No. 5737) and the related implementing regulation.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Bagis said that many countries in the world drew inspiration from the foundations which shared good and bad times of various religions, cultures, languages and perceptions in these lands for centuries, which surmounted the problems together and which shared their bread, water, land, enthusiasm and festivals.

Bagis stated that Turkey now became a centre for peace in its region as a country which conducts EU membership negotiations, which serves the General Secretariat of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and which co-chairs the Alliance of Civilizations Project.

Stressing that Turkey, with its actions and work, manifested itself as the most Easterner country of the West and the most Westerner country of the East, Bagis said:

"If Turkey is to become an EU member state and attain EU standards, this will be ensured through us all working hard together and in cooperation. I know for sure that in the history of Anatolia whenever a common enthusiasm was shared among people and common hard work was exerted, success was achieved in that particular thing. This was the case not only in the Republican era, but also in the Ottoman era, Seljuk era and before. Today we observe an enthusiasm for EU".

Bagis reminded that steps which would be taken during the next 4-5 years were specified in the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis and that a Minister for EU Affairs who would concentrate on EU negotiations was appointed.

Indicating that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to Brussels after a 4 year interval, Bagis stated that President of the European Commission had declared that they supported Turkey's membership target in front of the international media.

Bagis continued his speech with the following:

"Afterwards, the opponent party's leader also went there and gave similar positive messages. I really attach importance to the messages Mr. Baykal gave in Brussels because I do not want to go through the same difficulties we experienced before while passing the TRT Law, Foundations Law and while amending the Article 301. Therefore, I frankly wish to believe the messages Baykal gave in Brussels. Particularly, regarding the steps that will be taken after 29 March, I appreciate their contributions as well in the process of attaining a constitution that has to be a source of inspiration for Euroasia, in the preperation process of a constitution that will increase our rights and preserve them without making any discrimination."

Stating that, they had solved many problems within 7 years but there were still a lot of problems waiting to be tackled, Bagis said that there were too many issues that had to be settled through conciliation and dialog.

Expressing that "hiding the problems inside the iceberg and thus assuming them eliminated" would only be a loss of time, Bagis said "The sun emerges and the iceberg melts away and afterwards, the problems that are assumed to have been hidden pile up in front of you more complicated than before."

Bagis added that Turkey should get rid of the mentality that "it could protect itself by building walls around itself". He said that Turkey should quit perceiving everything that is foreigner as an enemy and should attain the culture of taking its place among new collaborations which will pave the way for a common future.

Bagis also paid a visit to Atasehir District Organization and there he met Riza Saka, the Head of Atasehir District Organization. Later, Bagis went around Atasehir and he greeted the people living there.

Resource: AA