THE NEW MISSION OF BAGIS ALSO FOUND AN ECHO IN FOREIGN PRESS

German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" introduced Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis.

It was pointed out in the newspaper article that Minister Bagis was not a very well-known parliamentarian, at the age of 32 when AK Party was established. It was quoted in the newspaper that, "Everybody in Turkey now knows Bagis who has climbed the career ladder quickly. The reason is that Egemen Bagis is someone who has fulfilled several duties."

In the same article, it was cited that Istanbul was chosen"2010 European Capital of Culture" "greatly as a result of the efforts of Bagis" and it was reminded that due to the heavy workload of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Bagis as Minister for EU Affairs with a view to accelerating EU negotiations.

In the article, it was noted that Minister Bagis believed in Europe and was also a well-known person in transatlantic relations. Other points cited in the article included that Bagis had relations with American Parliamentarians and therefore he had been a foreign policy advisor to Erdogan, that he had been the head of Federation of Turkish-American Associations during 1990s in New York and that he had carried out various duties in Ankara being responsible for Turks living abroad.

In the same article which stated that Bagis was known for his reformist identity, it was noted that the appointment of Bagis by the Prime Minister Erdogan was perceived as a signal of Erdogan's will to reaccelerate Turkey's relations with EU.