Bagis warns Greek Cyprus over stalling Turkey's EU bid

An acceleration of Turkey's European Union accession would benefit both Greece and Greek Cyprus, State Minister and EU Talks Negotiator Egemen Bagis said yesterday, but any cessation of talks would be a "nightmare" for southern Cyprus. "Greek Cypriots know very well that Turkey's EU process is their insurance policy," Bagis told reporters in Istanbul. "The ending of Turkey's EU process would be their nightmare." He added, "On the Cyprus issue, Turkey has right on its side. European Council member countries, including Greece, earlier decided to remove the blockade on Northern Cyprus, but failed to implement this. First they should put an end to the unjust blockade." Turkey sent troops to Cyprus in 1974 to ensure security there, he explained, adding that the Greek Cypriot claim that violence had not been widespread in the runup to the intervention is disingenuous. Decrying a recent attack by Greek Cypriot hooligans on a visiting Turkish basketball team, he said, "They should not try Turkey's patience." On the progress Turkey has made in its EU accession over the past two years, Bagis said, "Turkey's Secretariat General for EU Affairs works hard, with close to 300 employees … We have prepared a strategy for Turkey's accession process and have started to implement it." Bagis said their efforts would disregard whether negotiation chapters are being blocked for political reasons. The chapters on taxation and food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy were opened to negotiation over the past two years, he said, and Turkey made arrangements directly affecting the daily life of its citizens under the harmonization laws. A bio safety law, a legal arrangement on genetically modified organisms (GMO), has been enacted, outlawing their use in baby and children's food, he said. Bagis said since January 2009 officials have prepared and begun to implement 25 laws and 108 secondary legal arrangements as part of the harmonization process, adding that very important steps were made in political reforms, the third platform of the country's strategy.