“YOUNG BUSINESSMEN ON THE EU PATH”

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m delighted to be here today alongside

distinguished colleagues from the Turkish EU Ministry to open this

important project.

The UK is a longstanding champion of Turkey’s accession to the

European Union. As our Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said

when he was in Istanbul in October, we see this as a “strategic

necessity.”

The UK doesn’t support Turkish accession to the EU because we want

to be nice to Turkey. The UK supports Turkish accession because we

think accession, and the process which leads towards it, will make

Turkey stronger and more stable, because, Turkish accession will

make the EU more dynamic and stronger. And because Turkish

accession will bring new insights and experience to EU policies on

world affairs, including on the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.

This is the first in a series of seminars in Istanbul, Izmir and

Gaziantep, aimed at young Turkish business leaders. The UK

Government supports this project because we believe that, as

prominent individuals within your local communities and as potential

trade ambassadors for your country, you can play a key role in

building stronger trading ties between Turkey and the UK, and the

rest of the EU.

Over the course of the seminar you will hear about how EU

legislation affects the business environment in Turkey. And via study

visits to London and Brussels, you’ll meet your counterparts in other

EU Member States. I hope this will give you insights into how EU law

impacts on your trading links with the world’s largest trading bloc.

Even more important, I hope it will also lead to new business

between Turkey, the UK and the rest of the EU.

Thank you

Leigh Turner