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Turkish Press Review, 05-06-21
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
21.06.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN PLANS TO ATTEND TRADE CONFERENCE IN US
[02] GUL URGES MIDEAST COUNTRIES TO ENACT REFORMS
[03] GUL TO ATTEND IRAQ CONFERENCE IN BRUSSELS
[04] REHN: “THE EU WILL KEEP ITS PROMISES ON TURKEY”
[05] FT: “BLAIR’S DEMANDS COULD DERAIL OCT. START TO TURKEY’S TALKS”
[06] ARINC: “I WOULD PREFER THE NEXT PRESIDENT BE ELECTED FROM OUR CURRENT PARLIAMENT”
[07] BAYKAL WARNS GOVT ABOUT HIGH CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT
[08] GONUL MEETS WITH AFGHAN DEFENSE MINISTER
[09] VIETNAMESE FM VISITS TURKEY
[10] WB’S VORKINK: “OUR RECORD LOANS SHOW OUR FAITH IN TURKEY’S REFORMS”
[11] DERVIS CRITICIZES RICH COUNTRIES OVER AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[13] TURKEY’S GOALS BY MERIC KOYATASI (AKSAM)
[01] ERDOGAN PLANS TO ATTEND TRADE CONFERENCE IN US
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to travel to the US on July 5 to
attend the Sun Valley Conference organized by the North America Trade Union
in Idaho. High-level representatives from some 250 international leading
firms are expected to participate in the gathering. Erdogan reportedly will
speak about the strength of the Turkish economy and call on businessmen to
invest in Turkey. /Star/
[02] GUL URGES MIDEAST COUNTRIES TO ENACT REFORMS
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday said that political and economic
reforms were needed to keep the Middle East from falling behind the rest of
the world. Speaking at a symposium organized by the Turkish Economic and
Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) on “Empowering Women in Public Life and
Democratic Development,” Gul stated that despite its great potential, the
Mideast was falling behind the global trends of social and economic
development. To turn itself around and promote sustainable growth requires
both political and economic reforms, said Gul, adding that those reforms
included embracing the rule of law, transparency, good governance and
accountability, as well as encouraging political pluralism. /Turkiye/
[03] GUL TO ATTEND IRAQ CONFERENCE IN BRUSSELS
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due to travel to Brussels today to attend
a meeting on the reconstruction process of Iraq. The conference, co-
organized by the European Union and the US at Iraq’s request, will host
representatives from more than 85 countries and international organizations,
including Iraqi Premier Ibrahim al-Jaafari, United Nations Secretary-
General Kofi Annan, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. /Turkiye/
[04] REHN: “THE EU WILL KEEP ITS PROMISES ON TURKEY”
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday stressed that
the pace of EU expansion should continue despite the setbacks of the French
and Dutch rejections of the EU constitution. Warning that it would be
“irresponsible” to disrupt the momentum towards EU membership for Romania,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and the countries of the Western Balkans, Rehn
called on Turkey to make more progress on human rights and democratization
before its opens its membership negotiations on Oct. 3 as scheduled. “Some
politicians have been quick to call for a slowdown or even a stop to the
enlargement process,” he told the European Policy Center in Brussels.
“Certainly we have to pace ourselves, but it would be irresponsible to
disrupt a valuable process that is helping to build stable and effective
partners in the most unstable parts of Europe.” He emphasized that the EU
will keep its promise to start accession talks with Ankara on Oct. 3.
/Milliyet/
[05] FT: “BLAIR’S DEMANDS COULD DERAIL OCT. START TO TURKEY’S TALKS”
A European Union without a constitution and a budget will almost certainly
delay the enlargement talks with Turkey scheduled to start during the
upcoming British EU presidency, argued Wolfgang Munchau and Amity Shlaes in
a commentary in yesterday’s Financial Times. “[Last week’s] summit
collapsed after the failure by EU leaders to agree the 2007-2013 EU budget,
” they wrote. “When Tony Blair, the prime minister, rejected a proposal to
freeze the annual budget rebate to Britain, he saved British taxpayers a
mere 2.5 billion euros each year. The UK was not the only obstacle to a
compromise. But if Blair had accepted, neither the Dutch nor the Swedes
would have stood in the way of a deal. The failure to reach agreement
compounds the political crisis following the French and Dutch rejection of
the European constitution.” The authors underlined that they would not be
surprised if the EU now closed its doors to Turkey in light of rising
opposition to Turkish EU membership in France and Germany and criticized
Blair for sacrificing political goals that seem important to his country.
Britain is set to take up its six-month EU presidency on July 1, and
Turkey’s EU talks are to begin on Oct. 3. /Miliyet/
[06] ARINC: “I WOULD PREFER THE NEXT PRESIDENT BE ELECTED FROM OUR CURRENT
PARLIAMENT”
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday offered his views on the issue of
the 2007 presidential elections, the latest point of contention between the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP). At a news conference in Manisa, Arinc said
that he was not himself planning to seek the presidency. “I believe that
our Parliament will elect the best person,” he added. “I would personally
prefer that the president be elected from among the current Parliament.”
/Aksam/
[07] BAYKAL WARNS GOVT ABOUT HIGH CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Deniz Baykal yesterday
warned the government that this year Turkey’s current accounts deficit
would exceed $20 billion. Addressing a panel organized by the Turkish
Contractors’ Union, Baykal insisted that one of the Turkish economy’s major
weaknesses is its external deficit. He called on the government to take
effective measures on the issue. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] GONUL MEETS WITH AFGHAN DEFENSE MINISTER
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul yesterday met with his Afghan counterpart Gen.
Abdurrahim Wardak and an accompanying delegation visiting Turkey. Before
their talks, Gonul told reporters that operational forces in Afghanistan
would be put under a single command of NATO’s International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), adding that this would not necessarily mean
Turkish troops’ participation in operations. He stated that when the time
comes, Turkey would choose its involvement, meaning whether or not to take
part in the operation. For his part, Wardak said that Afghanistan wanted
Turkey, a fellow friendly country, to help ensure peace in his country.
/Turkiye/
[09] VIETNAMESE FM VISITS TURKEY
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien, on an official visit to Turkey,
yesterday met with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. During their talks,
the two top diplomats signed a protocol concerning the establishment of a
political consultation mechanism between their ministries. In addition,
they agreed to support each other’s bids for temporary membership on the UN
Security Council. /Turkiye/
[10] WB’S VORKINK: “OUR RECORD LOANS SHOW OUR FAITH IN TURKEY’S REFORMS”
The World Bank’s record loans to Turkey over the past year show its faith
in Ankara’s successful reforms, said WB Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink
yesterday. “All this shows the importance that the World Bank places on
Turkey,” added Vorkink. “The WB believes that Turkey has a great potential
and so finances it. Future loans will help Turkey move closer to the EU.”
On the subject of value-added tax (VAT) rebates for private school tuition,
Vorkink said that he favored this, adding that there should be more schools
in Turkey and that the private sector should step in to fulfill this need.
/ Sabah/
[11] DERVIS CRITICIZES RICH COUNTRIES OVER AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) head Kemal Dervis yesterday
criticized rich countries that support their own agriculture. “Rich
countries should cease this unfair support for their own agriculture and
use this support in a more constructive way for other countries’
development,” said Dervis, a former Turkish economy minister. He also
stated that the world had seen rapid development over recent years, with
Turkey achieving an average of 8% annual growth in the last three years
alone. “This development does not include all countries,” added Dervis.
“For development, a democratic atmosphere is required. Our aim is to have
fair development all over the world. 2005 might be the year we see the
fastest international development.” / Aksam/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[13] TURKEY’S GOALS BY MERIC KOYATASI (AKSAM)
Columnist Meric Koyatasi comments on Turkey’s goals. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“Yesterday I wrote that if we can analyze the budget crisis in the European
Union, we could understand that Turkey won’t be able to join the bloc. When
I look at the news today, they’ve already started to find certain pretexts
for 10 years from now. Some people say that the budget crisis wouldn’t have
an impact on starting our membership talks. However, the Financial Times
said yesterday that a European Union without a constitution and budget
would certainly postpone starting negotiation membership with Turkey, and
that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the EU closes its doors to Turkey,
following the French and German opposition to Turkey’s membership. In
addition, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told Bild am Sonntag that the
talks would be open ended and that the EU can no longer give new promises.
In short, the EU’s enlargement has infuriated the people who pay their
taxes in Europe. Besides Turkey, they say that the EU might even frustrate
Romania and Bulgaria’s membership hopes.
It’s time for Turkey to review its goals. When I say this, I don’t mean
turning our back on Europe or looking for new alliances. Turkey’s number
one trade partner is Europe. If we can meet European norms in terms of
commercial law, this would be sufficient for us. We shouldn’t damage or
weaken our national sovereignty, national honor or national security just
to gain full membership. For example, Switzerland and Norway didn’t want to
join the bloc. Instead of seeking free movement in Europe or to benefit
from EU funds, we should work hard to improve things at home. We should
have friendly relations with Europe and our neighbors and promote domestic
and foreign investments, trade and tourism. In addition, we should protect
our democracy and the free-market economy. There is no other way to
development, improvement and wealth.”
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