Bagis: "Turkey's EU accession will help the entire region"

Turkey's EU accession will positively affect not only the nation itself but also the Islamic and Turkic world, State Minister and chief negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis said yesterday. During a meeting with the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Ankara Zakir Hasimov, Bagis said, "Turkey's EU accession will give very important messages to a very large part of the world, and the EU should carefully consider this." In related news, speaking to Sabah daily, Bagis dismissed claims that Turkey's EU accession reforms had slowed down, saying that after the local elections late this month, reform efforts would gain momentum with a very busy program. Bagis said that after the elections, constitutional reforms would take priority in these reforms, and that strategy documents on the fight against corruption and judicial reforms would follow.