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ANKARA: Turkey's EU Negotiator Says France Thinks EU Talks Should Go

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  • ANKARA: Turkey's EU Negotiator Says France Thinks EU Talks Should Go

    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.
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