ANKARA
Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said on Thursday that "visa liberalization process between Turkey and European Union (EU) is promising", hoping that the "unfair practices will disappear soon."
Cicek made the opening speech of the 73th session of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting, reminding today is the 50th anniversary of "Ankara Pact" which started the cooperation between Turkey and EU.
He stressed that despite ups and downs, the relations between two sides have seen progress in many fields including economy, foreign policy, health, energy, education and culture.
"Turkey's EU membership has been blocked by some European countries with political reasons", Cicek stressed that Turkey has taken important steps in political area towards democracy and human rights.
Noting that Turkey will remain fully committed to the membership process and its requirements, "Our main aim is to increase living standard and wealth of our people" Cicek said.
Cemil Cicek pointed out that "Turkish people have been losing trust in EU membership process, due to disappointments and political obstacles."
"Turkish people still want EU membership despite their disappointments" he stressed.
Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said "the recent process of visa liberalization will be an important step in eliminating the distrust."
Reminding that Turkey is the only candidate country for the EU with visa obligations to its citizens, Cicek said "the difficulties Turkish citizens face in obtaining visa are inexplicable."
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