Bagis: "Turkey has a young, dynamic, trained and educated population"

Speaking to reporters after opening a culture center constructed by Istanbul's Umraniye Municipality in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Fojnica city, EU Minister Egemen Bagis said that efforts were initiated upon the instruction of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to find out periods of detention in European countries, as well as EU standards on the issue, and that related findings were submitted to the Cabinet. Bagis added that a conciliation commission would be set up on Erdogan's initiatives and that he hoped this constructive stance would be appreciated. Speaking on the release of the draft version of the EU Progress Report on Turkey, Bagis considered the paragraph on the Cyprus issue which was covered by the Report as "one of the most critical paragraph," adding that 70% of energy resources needed by Europe are located on Turkey's borders and that Europe couldn't reach those sources without Turkey's contributions. Bagis argued that the Greek Cypriot administration not only blocked the energy chapter bilaterally as part of Turkey's EU membership talks, but also created a new crisis. "Europe is shooting itself in the foot. Turkey enjoys the fastest-growing economy and the strongest army in Europe. Besides, it's the sixth largest economy in Europe. It has a young, dynamic, trained and educated population. It is also a critical country in terms of energy. Nevertheless, if Europe was reluctant about Turkey's membership, this would be their problem," said Bagis.