"Turkish people still want EU membership despite their disappointments" Cicek said
ANKARA
Turkish
Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said on Thursday that "visa
liberalization process between Turkey and European Union (EU) is
promising", hoping that the "unfair practices will disappear soon."
Cicek
made the opening speech of the 73th session of the EU-Turkey Joint
Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting, reminding today is the 50th
anniversary of "Ankara Pact" which started the cooperation
between Turkey and EU.
He stressed
that despite ups and downs, the relations between two sides have seen
progress in many fields including economy, foreign policy, health,
energy, education and culture.
"Turkey's
EU membership has been blocked by some European countries with
political reasons", Cicek stressed that Turkey has taken important steps
in political area towards democracy and human rights.
Noting
that Turkey will remain fully committed to the membership process and
its requirements, "Our main aim is to increase living standard and
wealth of our people" Cicek said.
Cemil
Cicek pointed out that "Turkish people have been losing trust in
EU membership process, due to disappointments and political obstacles."
"Turkish people still want EU membership despite their disappointments" he stressed.
Parliament
Speaker Cemil Cicek said "the recent process of visa liberalization
will be an important step in eliminating the distrust."
- Reminding that Turkey is the only candidate country for the EU with visa obligations to its citizens, Cicek said "the difficulties Turkish citizens face in obtaining visa are inexplicable."
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/259686--visa-deal-with-eu-quot-promising-quot-parliament-speaker
5/12/13
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Related:
Turkey, EU close to inking readmission of migrants, visa deal.
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"Strict" EU visa rules on Turkey "unacceptable" says Gul....
ReplyDeleteTurkish President Abdullah Gul on Friday said there is a discrepancy in European visa rules as Turkish citizens face "strict" EU visa restrictions while those from other countries like Russia and Latin America, who are not even EU candidates as Turkey is, are exempt.
Answering journalists questions while on a visit to in Gaziantep, Gul said that Turkey deserves visa exemption with EU because its candidacy process is advancing.
“Turkey is a full member of Customs Union which allows the goods to circulate between Turkey and EU member states, but the owners of these goods cannot travel to Europe freely to advertise their goods, isn’t it odd,” added Gul.
Gul expressed his relief at the release of Turkish journalist Metin Turan who was detained in Egypt during the anti-coup protests in Cairo's Ramses square.
He said Egypt is going through a critical period and that Egyptian people always trust Turkey and the people of the two countries are brothers.
“These kinds of periods are temporary. We hope that Egypt will achieve a democratic regime as soon as possible and the economic expectations of people will be met in a short time. Our country also passed through these kinds of crucial periods. We should be empathetic towards Egypt,” said Gul.
He also paid tribute to Nelson Mandela who died late Thursday evening.
Gul said “Nelson Mandela was a great statesman who inspired people in their quest for freedom, dignity and equality. He was also a resilient peacemaker and a relentless reformer. The world will remember him with admiration and gratitude. May his soul rest in peace.”
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/259954--quot-strict-quot-eu-visa-rules-on-turkey-quot-unacceptable-quot-says-gul
6/12/13