Turkish State Minister & Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis said on Wednesday that Turkey, with its current Constitution, could not be a member of the EU.
"I hope we will amend the Constitution with the support of opposition parties after local elections," added Bagis who addressed a panel discussion on "Treaty of Lisbon and Turkey's Accession Process to EU" at Fatih University in Istanbul.
Reminding that Treaty of Lisbon was signed on December 13, 2007 but approval process was hitched by the referendum in Ireland, Bagis said that Turkey needed the approval of 27 EU-member states to open chapters in membership negotiations with the EU. He added that when Lisbon Treaty was approved, decision-making process in the EU would function faster.
Bagis said that Turkey was currently in local election process and Parliament could not work thus, many legal arrangements could not be made. He said that they aimed to make legal arrangements especially Trade Law with the support of opposition parties after the local elections.
Noting that Europe had a serious energy shortage, Bagis said that Turkey was the critical country in Nabucco Project which would meet Europe's energy demand. Bagis added that energy chapter heading could not be opened in EU negotiations because Greek Cypriot administration rejected.
No cooperation with Armenia in nuclear energy
When a participant asked whether Turkey would cooperate with Armenia in energy issue, Bagis said that Turkey was exerting efforts to make its relations with Armenia well, but the relations had not yet reached to a level to cooperate in energy area. He added that Turkey showed goodwill to Armenia many times, and Armenia should show its goodwill too.
Upon a question whether Turkey could be an EU-member with the current Constitution, Bagis said, "Turkey, with its current Constitution, cannot be a member of the EU. I hope we will amend the Constitution with the support of opposition parties after local elections are held."
Expressing belief that Turkey would have a contemporary Constitution, Bagis said that there would not be an election for the next 2.5 years after the local elections were held, and necessary changes would be made by evaluating that 2.5-year period.
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