Turkish EU minister: Visa problem unsolved due to prejudices

Turkish Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis has stated that Turkey was the only candidate country the EU applied visa requirements and this problem could only be resolved by overcoming prejudices. Bagis gave an interview to the Luxembourg Wort newspaper on Wednesday. "The visa problem wasn't solved due to the prejudice towards our citizens. Turkey is the only country whose citizens require a visa to travel in the Schengen area. This problem could only be resolved by overcoming prejudices," Bagis said. Bagis also said, "EU is the biggest peace project in the history of humanity in our opinion. If nations such as Britain and France who were in war with each other can unite under the EU roof, Turkey should also be part of the Union." Stating that Turkey showed its persistence by waiting 45 years to begin negotiations with EU, Bagis said the EU could be transformed into a global peace project with the inclusion of Turkey. Bagis also said that the Cyprus issue wouldn't pose a problem as it didn't pose a problem when the Greek Cypriot administration became a member to the EU.