STOCKHOLM
Turkish Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said that Turkey may open 10 chapters to negotiations in 12 months and 15 chapters in 18 months if political blockade in the EU negotiations process ended.
Delivering a conference titled "Future of Turkish-EU relations" at the Stockholm University, Bagis stressed that what Europe would gain from Turkey's membership is not less than what Turkey would gain from EU membership.
I do hope that our European colleagues see this reality before it is late, Bagis stated.
On Turkish-Swedish relations, Egemen Bagis said that the two countries were in the spring of relations.
"The trade volume of 3 billion USD with Sweden continues to grow. Turkey and Sweden share many common interests in foreign policy," Bagis said.
"As Swedish Prime Minister Reinfeldt indicated, Turkey has friends in the EU. We are happy to know that Sweden is one of those friends," Bagis also said.
