ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stated Tuesday that Turkey's opening new chapter on regional policies to negotiations would not have beeen possible without Dutch support.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Netherland's EU Parliamentarian Committee members, Bagis said Turkey has enjoyed good support of Netherlands in Turkey's EU ambitions.
Raymond Knops, Head of Christian Democrat Party's Committee, noted they "really want have a debate in national parliament about EU, about Turkey" based on their own experiences.
Saying they were in Turkey to see how Turkey was developing, what were the themes, which were actual, Knops said they would also to have a little bit of fact finding mission for themselves in the country.
"We have a busy program this week and we will meet several officials in several parts of Turkey. We have met already member of parliaments which we see often in all kinds of assemblies. For example NATO assembly," Knops said and added they were looking forward to have further fruitful discussions in Turkey.
The press conference continues behind the closed doors.
Bagis will give a dinner in honor of Jean-Marice Ripert, head of the EU Delegation to Turkey, following the meeting.
European Union has given the go-ahead for opening a new chapter of accession negotiations with Turkey, the first such move in three years. EU General Affairs Council announced on Tuesday that Chapter 22 on 'Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments' would be opened with a mandatory Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on Nov 5.
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