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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning06.10.2005FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “TURKEY CANNOT NOW OPEN ITS HARBORS TO GREEK CYPRUS”Speaking to news channel NTV yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that for now it was out of the question for Ankara to open its harbors and airports to Greek Cyprus, adding that first the European Union should bring the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to an end. Touching on Turkey’s EU membership bid, Erdogan said that his negotiations with British Prime Minister Tony Blair had helped Ankara’s accession talks to begin. “I’ll call and thank the EU leaders who supported us in beginning our talks,” he said. He stated that the negotiating framework document was a roadmap. Erdogan further criticized French President Jacques Chirac’s comments that Turkey needed to undergo a “major cultural revolution” in order to join the EU. /Aksam/[02] GUL: “THE NEGOTIATING FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT IS BINDING FOR THE EU”Addressing Parliament yesterday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that Turkey’s new negotiating framework document was binding for the European Union. Gul stated that an accession partnership document would be prepared after Turkey’s negotiations are completed, adding that the document would be binding for both sides. He called Oct. 3 a “turning point,” adding that the EU had begun to learn to accept Turkey. He further said that he had briefed opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal on recent developments before flying to Brussels. The foreign minister said that the negotiations being open-ended was normal, adding that Turkey would join the EU after fulfilling the Union’s criteria. /Hurriyet/[03] BAYKAL CRITICIZES AKP GOVT FOR “LACK OF RIGOR” ON TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID”Speaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal criticized the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, saying that its policy for Turkey’s European Union bid lacked rigorousness. Baykal further stated that before Oct. 3 the government had excluded the Parliament, the main opposition CHP, and Foreign Ministry bureaucrats from the EU process. He stressed that compared to last December the situation of Turkey had worsened with the new negotiating framework document, adding that Turkey wasn’t on a path to full EU membership. /Cumhuriyet/[04] GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS TURKEYPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received his Georgian counterpart Zurab Noghaideli. Following their meeting, agreements were signed on air transportation and debt postponement. Afterwards, Erdogan told a joint press conference that he and Noghaideli had discussed commercial, economic, military and cultural issues. “Georgia's territorial integrity is very important for Turkey,” he added. “We want this territorial integrity to be supported with stability and within peace. Peaceful solution of the Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia problems is very important both for the region and Eurasia.” In related news, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday telephoned Prime Minister Erdogan to congratulate him on Ankara’s starting negotiations with the European Union. “The developments were pleasing for Turkey,” said Putin, and added, “We will boost cooperation between Turkey and Russia.” /Turkiye-Milliyet/[05] OLLI REHN VISITS ANKARA, OTHER OFFICIALS TO FOLLOWEuropean Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn yesterday arrived in Ankara. During two days of contacts with Turkish officials, as part of Turkey’s beginning its EU accession talks, Ankara’s screening process will be taken up. After meeting with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Rehn is expected to meet with EU Foreign Affairs Commission head Mehmet Dulger and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. Rehn is also scheduled to have talks with State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan and EU Harmonization Commission head Yasar Yakis. Furthermore, the commissioner will attend a banquet for EU countries’ ambassadors in Ankara hosted by Hansjoerg Kretschmer, head of the EU Commission Turkey Delegation. Then, Rehn, accompanied by Gul, will proceed to the central Anatolian city of Kayseri. Another guest from the EU, Marc Otte, the EU’s Middle East peace process special envoy, is set to arrive in Ankara today, while German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is expected next week. /Turkiye/[06] TURKISH VICTORIES MAKING GREEK CYPRUS VERY NERVOUSRelations between Ankara and the European Union are developing in Turkey’s favor, a development which is causing the Greek Cypriot administration concern. The recent negotiation crisis in Luxembourg resulting in Ankara’s victory in particular made Greek Cyprus very nervous. Greek Cypriot administration Foreign Minister George Iacovou accused Turkey of doing “Covered Bazaar”-type bargaining, saying, “All the disputes were maneuvers and tricks to influence public opinion.” In related news, Greek government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said, “Turkey’s negotiation process, which will take more than 10 years and foresees Turkey’s harmonization to European standards, would constitute a new framework for Turkish-Greek relations.” /Milliyet-Star/[07] TRNC’S TALAT: “WE’LL DO WHAT IS NEEDED”European Parliament President Josep Borrell yesterday called on the leaders of both the Turkish and Greek Cypriots to begin talks at the highest level for a settlement on the island. After completing his contacts in Greek Cyprus, Borrell yesterday proceeded to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Following a one-and-a-half hour meeting, Borrell told a joint press conference that the EP had strongly supported Annan’s plan, while Talat reiterated that the Turkish Cypriots stood ready to do their best for the unification of the island. He also welcomed the EP’s decision to establish a contact group with the Turkish Cypriots, adding that when the Cyprus issue was resolved, all hurdles on Turkey’s road to EU membership would fall. /Turkiye/[08] TAN: “TURKEY’S ABSORPTION IS ALSO IMPORTANT”Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said yesterday that Turkey’s European Union screening process would technically begin on Oct. 20, adding that they expected accession talks to begin during that process. At a weekly press conference, asked about the European Union’s “absorption capacity,” a term which appears in the negotiating framework document, Tan said that the expression had been used before and was nothing new, adding that it also applied to Turkey. Praising Washington’s backing for Turkey to begin its EU talks, Tan said the US was a world superpower and lent support to initiatives promoting harmonization and stability in the world. /Turkiye/[09] TUZMEN IN BULGARIA TO BOOST BILATERAL TRADEState Minister Kursat Tuzmen, who is currently in Bulgaria to pay an official visit, yesterday met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. Speaking afterwards, Tuzmen said that Stanishev wanted to cooperate with Turkey on important projects, adding that Bulgarian officials attached importance to cooperation with Turkey. “Our trade volume with Bulgaria has risen constantly over the last three years, to the tune of 40%,” he said, predicting that Ankara’s annual exports to the country would be about $1 billion. He added that the goal was to increase trade volume between the two countries to about $5 billion. /Turkiye/[10] FORMER TOP GENERAL LAID TO RESTThe highest echelons of Turkish politics and the state paid their final respects to retired Gen. Nurettin Ersin on Wednesday. After a ceremony at General Staff headquarters, Ersin’s body was taken to Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, where President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and former Chief of Staff and President Kenan Evren were among the many who come to pay tribute to Ersin. /Sabah/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[12] TO LIVE LIKE A EUROPEAN... BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on relations between Turkey and the European Union. A summary of his column is as follows:“On the way to integration with the European Union, everybody says that the actual work is starting now. Following the 1999 Helsinki summit and last December’s Brussels summit and finally after the turning point of Oct. 3, the same thing was said. Actually, all of these stages were difficult. This time the difficulties we can expect in the membership talks are different from previous ones in the following ways: Firstly, it’s about the character of the membership talks. Previously, Turkey made efforts to become a candidate and member country. Now not political problems, but technical issues will take on more importance. Thirty-five chapters will be discussed in order to harmonize with 80,000- page EU acquis communautaire. Secondly, it’s about a change of mentality among both the state and the public. Matters needed to become a full member should be implemented this time, because the issue is the standards of the public’s daily life. Thus, as the subject is the ‘national transformation’ or the ‘European way of life,’ not only the administrative staff and bureaucracy, but also the public’s active participation and support are necessary, and this will be difficult work. Everybody will focus on issues affecting daily life, such as agriculture, the environment, health and education, rather than just politics. A rundown of this ‘new life with the EU’ was published in Milliyet yesterday. We will see radical changes which might end many problems in many fields, for example, from trash to noise and from food to traffic. Isn’t this good? We’ve always wanted to tackle these problems which cause us such woe in our daily life, haven’t we? Unfortunately, we haven’t solved the majority of these problems ourselves. The EU membership motivation – or the obligation to harmonize – will activate dynamics within the nation and ensure that we take necessary brave steps. However, it won’t be easy to adopt certain areas, which will cause the need to leave behind old laws and practices in certain circumstances and even make some sacrifices from our sovereignty. If the negotiators accept this, other officials, the bureaucracy and the judiciary should keep in step with this. However, this isn’t the end of the work. Even if the new world with the EU can solve certain problems which vex the public, like education, health, traffic and the environment, the measures to be taken and EU standards to be harmonized should also be adopted and applied by the nation as well. Everybody should be aware of this and believe that the people should think and act like Europeans in order to reach European standards. This is a difficult job, but not an impossible one.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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