TÜSİAD’s statement on the occasion of Europe Day.
On 9 May 1950, the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman stated that European countries should unite to make Europe a continent for lasting peace. That very day, named as Europe Day is being celebrated since 1985. In this regard, as an institution which mobilises pioneering efforts for Turkey’s membership to the EU, we would like to celebrate Europe Day of all European citizens.
We firmly believe that 9th May would be a stimulus to our political and social sensitivity towards the accession process of Turkey.
On this occasion, we would like to stress our view that, a strong political will should be put forward to surmount all technical and political obstacles, so that accession negotiations which have lost their velocity due to the problems stemming from both Turkey and EU could be accelerated.
Even if the accession negotiations remain exposed to the political obstacles, harmonisation with the EU acquis should continue in order to upgrade Turkish society’s living standards.Moreover, Turkey should aim to be a leading European country in marking progress in the areas of entrepreneurship, education, digital agenda, women rights, research and development, innovation and green energy technologies, which are amongst the main priorities of the EU 2020 Strategy.
As stated in the declaration by the Turkish civic society organisations on 22 April 2001, we are convinced that the EU membership ought to be Turkey’s irreversible target. In this respect, TÜSİAD once more emphasises the need for the new parliament and government following the legislative elections of 12 June, to immediately revitalise the reform process in view of the EU membership in adopting as well a multi-party approach.