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Turkish Press Review, 04-12-02Turkish 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 morning02.12.2004ERDOGAN SETS SIGHTS ON EARLY 2005 FOR TALKS, REJECTS “IMPOSITION” OF RECOGNIZING CYPRUS PRIME MINISTER MEETS WITH IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT ERDOGAN HONORED AS “EUROPEAN OF THE YEAR” IN BRUSSELS SCHROEDER, BELGIAN PM PLEDGE COORDINATED EFFORTS FOR TURKEY’S EU TALKS SPAIN, ITALY THROW THEIR WEIGH BEHIND TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS DUTCH, DANISH PREMIERS: “FALTERING REFORMS COULD LEAD TO SUSPENDED TALKS” EP HEAD CALLS REPORT ON TURKEY “POSITIVE,” SAYS GREEK CYPRUS SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED PRE-ACCESSION ECONOMIC PROGRAM UNVEILED TURKISH LEADERS TO HOLD EU SUMMIT NEXT WEEK ANKARA SHOCKED BY SLOVAKIA’S “GENOCIDE” RESOLUTION ANKARA READY FOR PUTIN’S VISIT GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “RECOGNITION IS NOT A PRECONDITION” BABACAN MEETS IMF’S MOGHADAM TO DISCUSS STANDBY TIMELINE, REFORMS TURKEY, RUSSIA SIGN INVESTMENT PROTOCOL FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… WAR OF ANNOYANCES BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET) HISTORY OF THE EU BY ULUC GURKAN (STAR)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN SETS SIGHTS ON EARLY 2005 FOR TALKS, REJECTS “IMPOSITION” OF RECOGNIZING CYPRUSAppearing on television yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had taken the steps necessary for a Cyprus resolution, adding, however, that it was impossible for Turkey to recognize Greek Cyprus before this month’s European Union summit. “The EU cannot impose this on us,” he said. Erdogan stressed that he hoped Ankara’s accession talks with the EU would begin in the first half of next year and reiterated that proposals for “privileged partnership” were unacceptable. /Cumhuriyet/[02] PRIME MINISTER MEETS WITH IRAQI VICE PRESIDENTPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jafari. During their one-hour-plus meeting, al-Jafari said that his country wanted to strengthen ties with Turkey. He added that during its reconstruction process, Iraq hoped to learn from Erdogan’s experience in both politics and democracy. For his part, Erdogan stressed the importance of all sectors of Iraqi society having a seat at the country’s political table, adding that he hoped to see more action to end deadly attacks on Turkish truck drivers doing cross-border business. In related news, two more Turkish truck drivers in Iraq were reportedly killed this week. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN HONORED AS “EUROPEAN OF THE YEAR” IN BRUSSELSPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday was honored with the “European of the Year” award presented by Brussels-based weekly newspaper European Voice. The accolade was received in Erdogan’s stead by Saban Disli, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) deputy chairman. Speaking at the ceremony, EU officials praised Erdogan’s accomplishments and leadership. /Turkiye/[04] GUL VISITS SLOVENIAForeign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently paying a visit to Slovenia, yesterday met with his counterpart Ivo Vajgel in Jubljana. Asked afterwards by reporters whether Turkey would recognize Greek Cyprus, Gul said that in the absence of a settlement on the island, Ankara did not favor doing so. Gul reiterated that Turkey had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria and that no hurdles remained to Turkey beginning its European Union accession talks. Stressing that Ankara would not accept any “special status” with the EU short of membership, Gul said, “We already have a special status; we are in the Customs Union, although we’re not a full EU member.” For his part, Vajgel stated that his country would continue to push for a specific date being given for Turkey starting its accession talks. In addition, Gul addressed a conference at Ljubljana University on Ankara’s EU membership process. /Turkiye/[05] SCHROEDER, BELGIAN PM PLEDGE COORDINATED EFFORTS FOR TURKEY’S EU TALKSIn Berlin yesterday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and visiting Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt pledged to coordinate their support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid. The two leaders stated that Turkey should start its membership talks in 2005, stressing that the talks’ ultimate goal should be the country’s full membership. Alternate arrangements such as a “privileged partnership” are unacceptable, they added. /Hurriyet/[06] SPAIN, ITALY THROW THEIR WEIGH BEHIND TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKSItalian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Spanish Prime Jose Luis Rodriguez yesterday both expressed their support for Turkey beginning its accession talks with the European Union. Speaking at a joint press conference, Berlusconi said that they had agreed to support Ankara beginning its EU talks. “We should encourage Turkey’s desire to integrate with the EU,” added Berlusconi. /Cumhuriyet/[07] DUTCH, DANISH PREMIERS: “FALTERING REFORMS COULD LEAD TO SUSPENDED TALKS”Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and his Danish counterpart Anders Fogh Rasmussen yesterday declared that if Turkey doesn’t faithfully follow its European Union accession reform program, then its expected membership talks should be suspended. Beginning Ankara’s talks doesn’t mean that the country can automatically join the EU, they added, predicting further that the talks could last for 10-15 years. /Aksam/[08] EP HEAD CALLS REPORT ON TURKEY “POSITIVE,” SAYS GREEK CYPRUS SHOULD BE RECOGNIZEDEuropean Parliament President Josep Borrell yesterday characterized an EP report on Turkey adopted earlier this week as “positive.” Speaking to Turkish reporters in Brussels, Borrell said that the report also underlined the continued failure to solve the Cyprus issue, adding that Turkey should recognize Greek Cyprus in order to start its accession talks. “You can’t sit at the table with a country which you don’t recognize,” he added. /Aksam/[09] PRE-ACCESSION ECONOMIC PROGRAM UNVEILEDAt a joint press conference yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday unveiled a new pre-European Union accession economic program (KEP) meant to push Turkey’s EU bid. Speaking to reporters, Sener said that the KEP would be a basic reference document for Ankara’s medium-term program with the International Monetary Fund. Asked whether the KEP had been prepared on the assumption that Ankara’s EU accession talks would begin, Sener said that the Turkish economy was ready to face a range of contingencies. For his part, Babacan said that negotiations on a new standby agreement with the IMF were nearing completion, adding, however, there was not yet a firm signing date. “The standby will be limited compared to the KEP,” added Babacan. Also addressing the gathering, Unakitan said that the privatization of state oil company TUPRAS would be raised again soon. /Milliyet/[10] TURKISH LEADERS TO HOLD EU SUMMIT NEXT WEEKPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer is set to chair a special meeting next week with the participation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan, as well as Murat Sungar, Turkey’s European Union secretary-general. Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal is also expected to be invited to the gathering, which will focus on Turkey’s European Union membership prospects on the eve of the Dec. 17 EU summit. /Turkiye/[11] ANKARA SHOCKED BY SLOVAKIA’S “GENOCIDE” RESOLUTIONShocked on Tuesday by a surprise Slovakian Parliament resolution urging recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide, the Foreign Ministry demanded an explanation from Slovakia’s Embassy in Ankara. Embassy officials replied that they were also shocked by the development, adding that it is not a binding resolution. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is expected to summon the Slovakian ambassador for a more in-depth briefing after returning to Turkey from his current visit to Slovenia. The decision is entirely ignorant of history, charged Foreign Ministry officials. /Hurriyet/[12] ANKARA READY FOR PUTIN’S VISITAnkara is ready to welcome Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin for a two-day visit beginning this Sunday. Security forces will take unprecedented measures to protect the Russian leader, as with 3,000 policemen deployed in the city. Putin’s wife Ludmila Putina is expected to accompany him. In related news, Moscow has filed a complaint with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) charging that Russian ships were held up by Turkish officials during a recent passage through the Bosphorus. The complaint was discussed yesterday during an IMO meeting in London, and is due to be taken up again next week. Turkey is defending its measures to regulate and protect the straits. /Hurriyet/[13] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “RECOGNITION IS NOT A PRECONDITION”Greek Cyprus yesterday objected to a leaked section of a draft statement on Turkey prepared by European Union Term President the Netherlands saying that Ankara needed to recognize Greek Cyprus for its EU bid to go forward. Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Yakovu, visiting The Hague, said yesterday that his government would not make solving the Cyprus issue a precondition for Ankara to begin its EU negotiations. “On the contrary, we want to help Turkey enter the Union. But, in order to do that, they should first help us,” said Yakovu. /Turkiye/[14] BABACAN MEETS IMF’S MOGHADAM TO DISCUSS STANDBY TIMELINE, REFORMSState Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday met with International Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Reza Moghadam to discuss a proposed new standby agreement with Ankara. Among other issues they discussed were recent reforms on taxes, social security and banking law as well as changes in health insurance and retirement. /Star/[15] TURKEY, RUSSIA SIGN INVESTMENT PROTOCOLState Minister Kursad Tuzmen and Russian Energy and Industry Minister Victor Hristenko yesterday signed an investment protocol at a Turkish-Russian Joint Economic Commission (KEK) meeting in Moscow. While in the capital, Tuzmen also visited the Russian-Turkish Businessmen’s Union. “We want to boost our investments in Turkey, particularly in the fields of oil, natural gas and aluminum,” said Hristenko. Praising the Turkish companies doing business in his country, Hristenko underlined that Russian firms want to take part in Turkey’s privatization process. For his part, Tuzmen noted that a Turkish Commerce and Investment Zone is soon to be established on Russian soil. /Star/[16] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[17] WAR OF ANNOYANCES BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“As the Dec. 17 European Union summit approaches, we are facing new annoyances. A draft statement prepared by EU Term President the Netherlands includes sections implicitly calling for the recognition of Greek Cyprus as well as proposals for ‘open-ended’ talks, permanent limitations on the movement of Turkish workers into EU countries, a ‘special partnership’ for Turkey instead of membership, and ending the talks if seen as necessary. These proposals aren’t well-intentioned aims for integration with Turkey. Instead they seek to discourage our membership bid or test our pride. What these proposals actually say is: ‘After you hang about for 10 or 15 years, we don’t want to see you as an equal member of the Union, but as modern servants to sweep the streets of Europe.’ It’s clear that this war of annoyances will continue until Dec. 17, where EU leaders will decide on starting our accession talks. I don’t say ‘whether to start accession talks,’ because the decision of the Helsinki summit of 1999 is clear: If we fulfill our duties, the way to our membership would be opened. It’s been over four years. First they wanted us to fulfill the short-term criteria in one year and the long-term criteria in three. We fulfilled all of them, and they confirmed this with a report. When we asked them whether anything remained to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria, some countries (especially France, Netherlands and Austria) started to be evasive. They proposed ‘special partnership’ for Turkey. French President Jacques Chirac’s attitude proposing a ‘special partnership’ is very disappointing. If you had such an idea in mind, why 43 years ago did you promise that Turkey would become an EU member after fulfilling certain criteria? It would be terrible for the EU to maintain this stance, for they would be discriminating against a country which they promised equal membership. For it would mean they lack the honor to keep their promises.” [18] HISTORY OF THE EU BY ULUC GURKAN (STAR)Columnist Uluc Gurkan comments on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“When can Turkey join the EU? The leaked draft statement prepared by EU Term President the Netherlands doesn’t answer this question. In addition, French daily Liberation wrote, ‘Turkey can’t become an EU member before 2015 or 2020.’ The EU is giving Turkey a process of membership negotiations lasting more than 15 years but isn’t guaranteeing full membership. It also stated that talks might be suspended if human rights violations continue. The approval of two-thirds of the 25 EU countries is envisaged to decide on this issue. The draft statement doesn’t say that Turkey should give up full membership and accept a special status. However, it also doesn’t guarantee that this emphasis on special status won’t be added to the final document at the Dec. 17 EU summit at France’s behest. Actually, what’s envisaged for Turkey doesn’t seem to be full membership. The draft statement clearly said that free movement might be permanently limited. Obviously, if Turkey becomes a full member, the EU will be under some pressure, so such limitations are natural. Likewise, this was tried for other new members. However, these limitations can’t be valid for full members. It’s understood that during our membership talks process, we will face a great many difficult conditions. The most important of these are recognizing Greek Cyprus, solving our Aegean disputes in favor of Greece, and recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide. Turkey can’t accept these conditions by insisting on EU membership as our only aim. Accepting them would mean giving up being a nation. Turkey should be a real negotiator after Dec. 17. The way to ensure this isn’t resisting all these conditions. Turkey should implement certain arrangements which will improve its democracy and respect for human rights. In addition, it should begin human-oriented development. Claims of bad treatment and torture should end and the use of excessive force in the fight against terrorism should stop. Turkey should take steps to bring its democracy to world standards on its own, not at the EU’s insistence. Turkey and Turks have the power and experience to integrate advanced democracy with our own national values.” 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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