Emine Erdogan delivers speech at European Parliament panel

Emine Erdogan, the wife of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday delivered the opening speech at a panel entitled "Turkish Women on the European Union Path" held at the European Parliament. "We have to work together against the exploitation of women and women's labor," Erdogan told the panel. "As European women, we have the considerable power and potential to make a more livable world in the face of global threats and dangers." The panel was held by Emine Bozkurt, the EP's women rights rapporteur, along with the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), and also featured speeches by Chief Negotiator for EU Talks Egemen Bagis and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele. For his part, Fuele said that since the foundation of the Turkish Republic, and with the determination of its founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, important steps have been taken to advance women's rights, and that these reforms should be taken further under Turkey's EU accession process. In related news, Bagis said that prejudice against Turkey is the biggest hurdle to its EU membership.