As a part of his visits in London, the capital city of England, the Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis made a speech titled “Creating a Common Future Together: Towards a Visionary Europe” in London School of Economics (LSE), one of the leading universities of the United Kingdom.
Bagis said: “Today, we must discuss the future of Europe. Europe must be a cosmopolitan, multicultural, multilingual and multi-faith union. Although it has been going through hard times both economically and politically, the EU is the biggest peace project in the history of humanity and that’s why, Turkey intends to be a member of this Union”.
In his speech, stressing that the EU had to keep up with the developments in the changing world, Bagis also mentioned Turkey’s economic growth. Stating that a great number of Muslims lived in Europe and the perception as “Europe is a club of Christians” was not valid anymore, he said: “The fact that Turkey is a Muslim country is an advantage for Europe”.
Pointing out that Turkey would play a key role for Europe to become a global actor, Bagis said: “Many countries consider Turkey as a source of inspiration”. Stating that the new motto of Turkey throughout its accession process is “Hold tight Europe, Turkey is coming to save you”, he added: “The membership of Turkey will not make the EU pie smaller, but bigger”. Mentioning that Europe needed new markets and Turkey would be a solution within this respect, Bagis said: “The cosmopolitan approach of Turkey towards the global problems will help to make Europe a cosmopolitan union and Europe will turn into a better place with the accession of Turkey”.
AA