Pol De Witte, the ambassador of Belgium, the term president of the European Union, gave a talk in Gaziantep on the subject of ‘Turkey in the EU negotiation process’. The talk, organized by the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality at the Ömer Ersoy Cultural Center, began with a mini concert given by the students of the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce Fine Arts High School. Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Asım Güzelbey, who made the opening speech of the talk, pointed out that Gaziantep is a city that is followed with interest not only in Turkey but also all over the world, and said, “The importance of Gaziantep becomes much more evident especially during the EU process. As the Gaziantep Development Foundation, we invite the ambassador of the country, which is the term president of the EU, to Gaziantep every six months. We will invite them here and ask them to explain their perspectives on Turkey and Gaziantep. At the same time, our participants can ask the ambassador any questions they may have during this process.” Ambassador Pol De Witte also made statements on some issues such as the establishment process of the EU and the acceptance of members. Witte, who stated that Turkey will join the EU sooner or later, said, “The negotiation process is difficult because the decisions are made by the established commission. There are two separate dimensions of the negotiation, and these are technical and political dimensions. First of all, there are criteria that candidate countries must fulfill in order to adapt to the EU. They must fulfill the conditions consisting of 35 different qualifications. Turkey has passed 13 chapters so far. Currently, the opening of the competition chapter is on the agenda. What is meant by competition here is that all private sectors are in free competition without state aid. All candidate states create a competitive environment by strictly maintaining state aid. Some decisions taken by Turkey in October are important steps for this chapter to be reflected positively in the discussions. After this implementation is implemented, some additions can be made in the coming days. Both sides are currently continuing their negotiations very closely. The EU delegation in Turkey is continuing its negotiations with the ministries on this issue. We are currently in a very critical process because the commission will prepare a report by the end of the week. Afterwards, the EU will make an internal evaluation and bring up whether the 14th chapter will be opened or not. If these are deemed appropriate, this chapter will be opened on December 27 during the Belgian presidency,” he said. Expressing that the political dimension is more important in the EU membership process, Witter said, “Right now, there is not as much enthusiasm as before regarding Turkey’s EU membership. Some members think that it is not the right time for Turkey to join. This is of course the opinion of some politicians. Although some politicians do not look favorably on it, some businessmen and other politicians think the exact opposite. I think that this process will accelerate with the Belgian presidency. Some may think that the process is slow, but this was also seen in other member countries. It is extremely important for this process to continue and for Turkey to become a member of the EU. What Turkey has achieved in the last 10 years has affected the EU. Issues that were not discussed in Turkey 5-10 years ago are now being expressed very comfortably. This has also positively affected the EU. My personal opinion is that Turkey will become a member of the EU in a short time. This dynamic economy of Turkey can provide significant added value to the EU. The EU needs Turkey and Turkey needs the EU,” he said. Witter answered the questions of the participants after his statement. Witter, who stated that they are aware of the difficulties experienced by business people who go to the EU regarding obtaining visas, said, “I hear this problem frequently. We will definitely take initiatives to solve this problem. Of course, the ultimate goal is to completely eliminate visas, but we are working to eliminate the problems in this process. I am speaking on behalf of my own country, we have serious efforts to facilitate the obtaining of visas by business people. Business people working with Belgium do not have any problems in obtaining visas anyway.” Witter, who pointed out that the EU has been aging in recent years, said, “The EU has unfortunately had an elderly population in recent years. Instead of being an outward-looking society, the EU has become an inward-looking society. In addition, the EU has taken important steps in terms of institutionalization in recent years. Right now, the EU needs Turkey’s workforce. The EU will accept Turkey’s membership sooner or later and become a model for Islamic countries.”
