MARTIN SCHULZ : Head of European Parliament recommends Turkish Minister to face history

MESOP REPORT – 14.9.2012 – President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz met with the Turkish Minister for the EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis. The official discussed the role of Turkey in Syria, the visa regime and the prospective for Turkish membership in EU. Bagis and Schulz also commented the Armenian Genocide and the new bill adopted by the French senate.

Egemen Bagis refused to answer a question about the investigation launched by Switzerland for his remarks denying the Armenian Genocide. During the press conference in the European Parliament Bagis said: “Switzerland is not member of the EU and I will not spend one second to talk about non EU issue”. Martin Schulz underlined the clear position of the European Parliament, which in a resolution in 2005 called on “Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide and considers this recognition to be a prerequisite for accession to the European Union.”

“As German I know also the history of my own country and the role the imperial army of Germany played in previous time. Nevertheless, my recommendation to the Turkish authorities is today the same as it was in previous times. You should face your own history and you should allow independent inquiries about your history. (…)