KINIKLIOGLU: “EU accession process is the top priority on our foreign policy agenda”

AK Party Deputy Chairman of External Affairs Suat KINIKLIOGLU addressed to the General Assembly of the Parliament during the amendment negotiations of the Law on the Organization and Functions of the Secretariat General for the EU Affairs 

Whilst mentioning that the Turkey-EU relations were especially vitalized after AK Party has taken over government in 2002 KINIKLIOGLU said that this government has realized important reforms within a short time which had not been possible in the last forty years. Turkey had gone through an unprecedented reform process and as an effect had become more transparent, more democratic and stronger.

KINIKLIOGLU said that the EU was also Turkey’s first trade partner and that in 2008 48% of Turkish exports went to the EU while nearly half of the produced surplus value of 100 dollars went to the EU. He further explained: “We can see the essential contribution of the EU process concerning direct foreign investments which are very important for the creation of jobs. While direct foreign investments between 1995 and 2003 totalled 1 billion dollars the amount in 2005 reached 10 billions, in 2006 20,2 billions, in 2007 22 billions, in 2008 18 billions. The last five year-average of these numbers shows that 76% of the foreign direct investment comes from EU countries.”

“In spite of some distanced attitudes towards Turkey’s membership after government changes in France and Germany and after the last enlargement which was followed by difficulties in the EU’s capability of dealing with new members, as AK Party we see the admission to the EU as a privileged issue in our foreign policy” said KINIKLIOÐLU and carried on:

“As admission processes always have a changing impact on societies’ political, economic and social situation all admission processes are difficult. In order to conduct the membership talks more effectively we now have on our agenda the reform of the EU Secretary General under the leadership of our Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen BAGIS. This is nothing unusual. If we have a look at eastern European countries which went through the admission process we can see that they renewed their negotiating institutions as well according to the stage of the negotiations and the requirements of the own country in order to conduct these membership talks more effectively. The bill in question abolishes the law number 4587 and makes the Secretariat General for the EU Affairs (ABGS) more flexible, more effective and stronger. It strengthens the institutional identity of the ABGS, it increases the number of employees and brings about more flexibility in the appointment system. I want to point at the number of the personnel: At the moment there are about 100 employees of which about 50% are experts. In Poland there are 40 members of staff just in the EU law department. Hence it is obvious that the current staff number is insufficient and that this number will limit the success of the negotiations. If the bill is passed we will reach a number of staff of 333.”

KINIKLIOGLU emphasised that the EU process is a societal project involving government, opposition, NGOs, the media and capital owners equally. In his speech KINIKLIOGLU pointed at Walter Hallstein’s (President of the European Economic Community) speech given after the joint signature of the Ankara Agreement in 1963 by saying “Today we are witnessing a great event. Turkey is a part of Europe. The importance of today’s assembly lies in this point. The fact that Turkey is European is not only a century lasting geographical expression or a historical decidedness but the confirmation of a truth. At this occasion we stand at the beginning of a close cooperation between Turkey and Europe. Both parties will come together in the Council of Europe and meet as equal partners and one day the last step of this process will be made and Turkey will become a full member of the Union.”