AA director general on role of Turkish local media in EU process

ERZURUM (A.A) - July 13, 2011 - Anadolu Agency (AA) Executive Board Chairman and Director General Dr. Hilmi Bengi has said that if the public believed in the European Union (EU) and people were aware of importance of the EU, then the accession process would get easier.
Delivering a speech at a panel discussion on the role of Turkish local media in EU accession process at Palan Hotel in eastern province of Erzurum, Bengi said that awareness of the public was of great importance for Turkey's EU accession process. "The role of media is important to make the people be aware of this process," he said.
The path towards EU was the closest one to reach level of contemporary civilizations put forth by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, he said.
Bengi said the EU process was "modernization and enlightenment process."
Turkey's EU Ministry assumed a very important role with "Turkish Local Media on EU Path Project," he said. "This project is an significant opportunity in terms of participation of the people in the accession process," he said.
Bengi said that AA could play the role of bridge between the local media and the EU Ministry.
"We are eager to benefit from EU projects. We are preparing a project in this respect," he said.
"AA has representatives in different countries in the world. Our correspondents are working in 10 different places in Europe. We have correspondents in several cities in Germany," he said.
Informing participants about AA's Germany bulletin, Bengi said that the bulletin aimed to provide news reports to Turks in that country.
Bengi said that AA aimed to turn this bulletin project that it started in Germany into a bulletin for Europe.
Anadolu Agency, established on April 6, 1920 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, is the biggest news agency of Turkey and one of the prominent wire services of the world.
With its 28 regional offices within the country and 22 bureaus in foreign countries, AA instantly informs its subscribers about the developments in Turkey and in the world with around 700-800 news stories and around 200 photographs, daily.
AA's news stories cover a large spectrum extending from politics to health, parliament news to economy, cultural and artistic activities to sports and science and technology to education.
AA has also been exchanging news with more than 80 national and international agencies and is the primary and most important news source of press and media organizations in Turkey.