On 25 February 2015, H.E. the Ambassador of Latvia to Turkey, Mr. Atis Sjanīts signed a Memorandum of Intent with H.E. Mr. Mieczysław Cieniuch, Ambassador of Poland and Dr. Metin Feyzioglu, President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, on the launching of a common project between the Embassies of Member States of the European Union and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. The project, entitled “Equal Opportunity”, aims at providing EU nationals with equal access to a current database of Turkish legal offices which possess the linguistic skills to deliver assistance to EU citizens. It is also an opportunity for the legal offices to gain equal access to a pool of clients from the European Union Member States.

The project is a common initiative of the Embassy of Latvia in Turkey in its capacity as a representation of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the Embassy of Poland in Turkey.

With assistance from the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, the project will result in a list comprising the names and contact details of eligible legal offices from all eighty one provinces of Turkey. Feedback will be sought from EU nationals on the quality of services received.

The anticipated time for concluding the project is June 2015.