Egemen Bağış Attends the EU Ambassadors’ Dinner Hosted by Prime Minister Erdoğan

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış participated in the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on February 11, 2013, in honor of EU ambassadors. Delivering a speech in the dinner Prime Minister Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to the EU membership goal and expressed Türkiye’s determination in speeding up the accession process.,

Making reference to the current status of accession negotiations, Prime Minister declared Türkiye’s readiness to open up 10 chapters in 12 months and 15 chapters in 18 months in case of the removal of political blockages. Articulating Türkiye’s expectation for concrete steps and decisions from the EU, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that Türkiye’s EU membership would be the best and the most effective response to racisn and the clash of civilizations thesis. Touching upon Türkiye’s strategic relations with rising Asia, Prime Minister emphasized that these relations are not considered as an alternative to EU membership, but that they would stregthen the relations between EU and Türkiye.

Prime Minister Erdoğan ended his speech by expressing his wish for 2013 to be a new year of progress in Türkiye-EU relations.