TURKEY’S EU NEGOTIATOR SAYS FRANCE THINKS EU TALKS SHOULD GO ON

Anadolu Ajansi (Anatolia Agency)
Sept 21 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL (A.A) -21.09.2009 -Turkey’s European Union (EU) negotiator
said on Sunday that France thought that Turkey’s EU entry talks should
go on.

Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s state minister and chief negotiator for EU
talks, said that the French executives he had met thought that full
membership negotiations with Turkey should go on.

"All French executives I met said they are of the same opinion with us
that the situation should be re-assessed at the end of negotiations,"
Bagis told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport.

Bagis returned to Turkey from France, where he travelled on September
17. Bagis met Pierre Lelouche, French Secretary of State for European
Affairs; and Michel Barnier, a candidate of the Union for a Popular
Movement (UMP) in recent European Parliament (EP) elections.

The minister said that Turkey’s target was EU full membership, and
Turkey was determined to complete negotiations as every country in
the same process.

Bagis said the aim of negotiations was accession to the union, and
Turkey would not accept any other alternative.

The minister said France would continue supporting Turkey for
opening of new chapters, and France had been monitoring the role and
regional position of Turkey in important world crisis and had seen
the increasing importance of Turkey.

Also, Bagis said that reforms in Turkey was the thing bringing Turkey
closer to the EU.

"They also said they were supporting our reforms because these reforms
not only aim at raising standards in Turkey but also making Turkey a
more stable, more self-confident and democratic ally of Europe with
a stronger economy," he said.

Bagis said that the French executives said they would be more careful
to prevent any initiatives aiming to reduce Turkey’s motivation in
the reform process.

"We have once more reaffirmed that France is closely monitoring and
supporting the ongoing democratic move in Turkey," Bagis said.

Bagis also said that French executives were attaching importance to
and were closely monitoring the move Turkey launched with Armenia.

Another key topic for France was global energy policies and the key
role Turkey had in energy projects, Bagis said.

On the decision of the European Court of Justice saying that the
"excessive residence fees taken from Turks living in the Netherlands
were illegal", Bagis said the decision reaffirmed the rights of
Turkish citizens stemming from Turkey-EU association law.

"I think this is an important decision, which shows that what we can
gain by our rightful struggle," Bagis also said.

Bagis also said that an EU Law Department was set up in the Secretariat
General for the EU, and the department would work on EU laws and
would work to protect rights of Turkey and Turkish citizens.

Also, Bagis said Turkey had pledged to open its ports in return for
end of unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots and start of direct trade
to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Bagis said the European Council made a decision in April 2004 that
the isolation of Turkish Cypriots would end, and Turkey was expecting
EU member states to abide by this decision.

"If the EU implements its own decision, we will fulfil our commitment,"
Bagis said.

Bagis said Turkey’s ports and airports were open to the Greek Cypriot
administration till 1987, and opening ports to the Greek Cypriots
would not mean recognizing the administration.

The minister said the EU should also fulfil its commitments for
Turkey to open its ports, and expressed belief that all EU member
states would make an assessment in a fair way.