Martin Schulz to pay official visit to Turkey
The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz i will be on a two-day official visit to Turkey tomorrow and Thursday.
On Wednesday President Schulz will have meetings with the highest Turkish authorities, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan i, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, European Affair Minister Volkan Bozkır, and the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Cemil Çiçek. President Schulz will also meet with political group leaders in the TGNA.
On Wednesday afternoon President Schulz will hold a press conference open to all accredited journalists at the Delegation of the European Union.
The enlargement process, geopolitical developments in the Middle-East, the humanitarian crisis in Syria, bilateral and regional trade relations between the EU and Turkey, internal reforms, human rights and media freedoms will be among the issues discussed during the two-day programme.
Ahead of the visit, President Schulz stated:
"Turkey is more than a key strategic, political and economic partner of the EU: it is a candidate country. Since I take this candidacy seriously, I believe dialogue must be continuous and unhindered with authorities, parliamentarians and civil society alike. I also intend to visit Turkey in order to witness first-hand the inspiring work which has been done by Turkish authorities to shelter and help refugees fleeing from the Syrian conflict."
Programme:
Wednesday, 8 April 2015 - Ankara
9:00 Meeting with Volkan Bozkır, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator - Ankara
9:45 Meeting with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs - Ankara
10:30 Meeting with Selahattin Demirtaş, head of the Democratic Party (HDP) - Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ankara
11:20 Meeting with Oktay Vural, Deputy Parliamentary Group Leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Tuğrul Türkeş, Vice-chair for Foreign Relations of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) - Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ankara
12:10 Meeting with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) - Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ankara
14:30 Meeting with Ahmet Davutoğlu, Prime Minister of Turkey - Ankara
16:00 Meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey - Presidential Palace, Ankara
17:30 Press Conference - Delegation of the EU to Turkey, Ankara
19:15 Meeting with Cemil Çiçek, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey - Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ankara
Thursday, 9 April 2015: Gaziantep
10:30 Meeting with Süleyman Tapsız, Governor of Kilis
16:30 Meeting with Ali Yerlikaya, Governor of Gaziantep
17:00 Meeting with Fatma Şahin, mayor of Gaziantep
19:00 Press conference - Gaziantep Oguzeli Airport