The INGO Diplomats International has been working on the expansion and stability of the European Union for more than 12 years. The organization is committed to ensuring Turkey's accession. When the INGO DMW organized and hosted the European conference in Cologne in 2000, a common, clear statement was made with the then Commissioner Günter Verheugen on Turkey's accession to the European Union. Then, as now, this was not just about securing agreement.
The INGO Diplomats International has since continued to support Turkey and found in many discussions with Turkey a real and exemplary appetite for reform. Whereas there was little recognition for womens' rights more than a decade ago, today there is a system for immediate police response to distress calls concerning the abuse of women, facilitating direct intervention for the protection of women. Foundations were also laid to provide talented young women from deprived households with greater educational opportunities and therefore equal potential for development. In the judiciary, there have been extensive reforms as well as greater administration and legal certainty. Of course, more work still needs to be done when it comes to meeting human rights criteria and protecting minorities and other religions.
The INGO Diplomats International has been in continuous dialog with Islamic religious leaders for many years and is always impressed by the care, sensitivity and empathy with which Prof. Dr. Görmez approaches current issues.
"The Turkey that we see today is not the underdeveloped country that it was 12 years ago. It is a cosmopolitan and economically strong country, notwithstanding the fact that further reforms are needed on both sides – including the EU," says the Chairman of the INGO DMW, Günther Meinel.The INGO Diplomats International has set itself the task of presenting the new, modern Turkey to Europe as a modern country on the road to democracy, to dispel prejudices on both sides and to adjust outdated ways of thinking. The INGO Diplomats International promotes Turkey and its people as it really is in order to rectify the skewed perception of the country that still exists in Europe.Turkey's strong economy, which is more highly developed than some EU member states, would make a significant contribution to economic stability in the European community.
For purely strategic reasons, Turkey's unique access to and in acceptance in Arabic and Islamic countries – as is currently evident in the responsible position adopted by Turkey towards the civil war in Syria – means that Europe needs Turkey as a member to act as both a link and a mediator between peoples and safeguard security in Europe.
The INGO Diplomats International will continue to campaign vigorously for the abolition of ideological and religious boundaries between the EU and Turkey in order to facilitate Turkey's accession to the European Union.