Mr. Egemen Bagis:

I thank the Chairman and the committee members for their interesting remarks, questions and ideas. I really enjoyed this frank and sincere chat. I will be as a frank and sincere myself.

One needs to understand and, at least, have a vision for what the European Union stands. Is it an economic or political union or something else? The European Union, as far as I am concerned, is the grandest peace project of the history of mankind. It has ensured sustainable peace, solidarity and stability on the Continent. Many nations that have fought for centuries with their neighbours, including Ireland, have come to a permanent peaceful resolution because of the Union. As it is the greatest peace project of mankind, it is still a very continental project. Unfortunately, it does not cover the whole Continent either. I agree with Deputy Durkan about the Balkans. This continental project cannot leave any black holes or black mountains in the heart of Europe. We have to enlarge this message of peace and that is where Turkey's membership comes in. The day Turkey joins the European Union, we will help transform this continental project into a global peace project. Turkey's messages, combined with the messages of peace, democracy and human rights, will have a much greater geographical effect.

Today, Turkey is the most eastern part of the west and the most western part of the east. I do not believe the Cyprus problem, which was not a prerequisite for EU membership for Cyprus, should turn into one for Turkey's membership. It is a relevant problem but was not relevant enough to stop Cyprus from becoming a member. It should not be an obstacle to Turkey's membership.

We are willing to deal with the Cyprus problem in a peaceful manner. When my party came to power in 2002, for the past 40 years no Greek Cypriots had been allowed into Turkey. One of our first actions was to change that. We asked the Turkish Cypriots to do the same and we opened the way for the exchange of travel between Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus. In the past nine years, nearly all Greek Cypriots have been to the north and nearly all Turkish Cypriots have been to the south. Thankfully, there have been no disagreements, fights or casualties. These two peoples on the same island get along and live together.

However, one fact we must accept is that when the sun shines on that beautiful island, it shines on two different states with two different elected presidents, parliaments, school systems and so forth. My Government recognises one of these two while the Irish Government recognises the other when in reality there are two states and governments on the island. The idea should be to merge these states into one, which we have been attempting to do since 2002. This was the whole idea behind the United Nations peace plan formulated by the then UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan.

The Turkish Cypriots supported the plan, despite the resistance of their own president at the time. However, the Greek Cypriots rejected it as did their president. While we want to unite the two states, it is up to the people of Cyprus to decide. Turkey will support and bless any solution that is accepted by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, as long as it is based on political equality. Political equality will ensure that once we take away all our troops from the island, we will not end up in a situation like 1974 when we had to send the troops in. We do not enjoy keeping our troops on the island as it is a significant cost to us. The presence of Turkish troops has been enjoyed by the Greek Cypriots as well as they voted to keep the troops on the island. If the Annan plan had been accepted, the number of Turkish troops would be down to 650 while Greek troops would have been down to 900. The plan proposed that after 2010 there would be no more troops left on the island except for British troops. The Greek Cypriots voted to keep Turkish troops on the island because they know it has ensured peace and sustainable development. I guess what these soldiers eat and buy has been good for the economy.

After the 2004 referendum on the Annan plan, there was a unanimous Council decision to lift the blockade against Northern Cyprus. It would have been just like Ireland trading with Taiwan without recognising it. However, it was blocked by the Greek Cypriot Government. If the embargo were lifted, that would be enough for us to open airports and seaports to Greek Cypriot planes and vessels. The Greek Cypriot economy has one of the largest commercial fleets in the world. It is a shame it does not have access to the largest ports of the Mediterranean because of this attitude. If Aer Lingus were to fly to Ercan Airport, not only would it be a profitable route, it would give us the leverage to open our airspace to Greek Cypriot planes. As they are forced to fly around Turkish airspace, they spend an extra €20 million on fuel. Access to Turkish seaports would give Greek Cypriot goods access to a market of 75 million Turks.

We recognise the Greek Cypriot nation but Ireland has to recognise the other one as well. We have always encouraged the Turkish Cypriots to continue talks with their Cypriot neighbours. Deputy Crowe referred to the talks between the Northern Cyprus President, Mehmet Ali Talat, and the Cypriot President, Demetris Christofias. The only reason Mehmet Ali Talat lost the presidential election was because his people thought he was too soft on the Greek Cypriots. His opponent, Derviş Eroğlu, took over and through Turkey's intervention and motivation, he had more than three years of talks with Demetris Christofias. The Turkish Cypriots did continue their talks. It was Demetris Christofias who announced he wanted to stop the talks because he does not want to run for re-election. We are now focused on the choice of the Greek Cypriot people for their next president. Whoever it is, we will still encourage the Turkish Cypriots to continue the talks.

However, let us agree on one fact. If there was a solution on the island, both sides would profit economically so much that the benefits of the solution would outweigh by many multiples the deficits of there being no solution. President Christofias has announced that his country is on the brink of bankruptcy during the Cypriot Presidency which casts much doubt on the credibility of the European Union. We all should be worried about this and we should not let any member state fall into bankruptcy. If it was not for his attitude of no solution, then the whole island, including the beautiful city of Famagusta mentioned earlier, would be a haven of prosperity.

The reason Famagusta is a mislaid ghost town is because of their attitude. We are willing to move. I agree that if the Annan plan had been approved, Famagusta would be one of the most attractive tourism destinations in Europe right now but it is not my country's fault that the city is a ghost town. Who rejected the solution to the problem?

As far as Deputy Kyne's issue of migration is concerned, Turkey is a country of 75 million. Our unemployment rate is the best in Europe today. Our median age is 29. We have a young population. Some 65% of my nation is below the age of 34. I happen to be one of the youngest Ministers in the Government, but 75% of my nation is younger than I am.

Our people are no longer migrating. The number of Turkish immigrants to Europe last year was much less than the total number of European emigrants to Turkey. There are ever more Irish, Germans, French and Dutch who choose Turkey as their place of retirement. They buy homes or rent property, and the enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean climate. In Antalya, for example, there is sunlight 300 days of the year and the cost of living is much cheaper.