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Turkish Press Review, 06-12-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning06.12.2006FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: "IF ANYONE LOSES, IT WILL BE THE EU"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that Turkey had entered a critical period in its European Union process and warned the EU leaders before the Dec. 14 summit, saying, "Putting barriers before Turkey to push it away from the membership negotiations would be a grave mistake. Turkey has nothing to lose. If anyone loses, it will be the EU." He added, "It's not only that Turkey needs the EU. The EU also needs Turkey." Speaking at his party's group meeting at Parliament, Erdogan also addressed his recent visit to Iran and Middle East issues. In related news, Erdogan announced he will pay a visit to Syria today for talks on the latest developments in the region. /Cumhuriyet/[02] GUL MEETS WITH SWEDISH FMForeign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his visiting Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt. Following their talks, Gul told reporters that Ankara expects European Union leaders to evaluate Turkey's membership with common sense and to act objectively. In addition, for his part, Bildt said that his country favored the continuation of Turkey's EU membership process, adding, "The process should continue whatever happens." The visiting foreign minister was then received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. /Turkiye/[03] BAYKAL ADDRESSES CHP GROUP MEETING, COMMENTS ON 2007 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSpeaking at his party's group meeting yesterday, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal commented on a number of issues, including next year's presidential election. Baykal stated that the next general elections, currently set for fall 2007, should be held early, in advance of the May presidential election. "If you go to the nation and get a majority of votes, I won't oppose your presidency," said Baykal, alluding to undeclared candidate Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Saying that we'll hold a presidential election in this Parliament would be a trap because you [the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP] won 34% of the vote five years ago. How many votes you would win now isn't clear. I respect anyone's candidacy, but also expect everyone to respect the Constitution. The people who voted for you in the [2002] general elections are saying the same." Also commenting on Turkey's European Union membership bid, Baykal said that there was no political stance in the Union to accept Turkey's membership. "Will we join the EU if we fulfill all the criteria asked of us?" asked Baykal. "No, we won't, but the government doesn't even realize this." /Aksam/[04] MUMCU CRITICIZES GOVT'S EU POLICYAddressing his party's group meeting yesterday, opposition Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) leader Erkan Mumcu criticized the government for failing to fight corruption as well as its European Union policy. "The way to head off EU politicians is to stay one step ahead of them," said Mumcu. "Let's declare that we're breaking off our relations with the EU, including the Customs Union, and that we won't discuss any issue with the EU until the Cyprus issue is solved within the UN." Mumcu further stressed that the EU can't continue without Turkey. /Aksam/[05] CHIRAC, MERKEL, POLISH PRESIDENT DISCUSS TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIPFrench President Jacques Chirac, Polish President Lech Kaczynski and German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday met in Germany as part of the "Weimer triangle" meetings to discuss Turkey's European Union membership. Afterwards, at a press conference, Merkel told reporters that the EU Commission's advisory decision would be a good basis for the upcoming EU foreign ministers meeting and EU summit. Stressing that the EU Commission could prepare a new report on Turkey sometime between June and December 2008 in light of developments up to then, Merkel said Greek Cyprus was not expected to exercise its veto right during that process. Also speaking to reporters, Chirac said that they hoped for improvements in the implementation of the Ankara Protocol. Kaczynski, for his part, stated that his country favored continuing the talks with Turkey, adding that it was a long process. In related news, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said yesterday that the EU-Turkey rapprochement process should not be cut off, adding that this process especially served EU interests. /Turkiye/[06] EU COMMISSION: "A FAIR SETTLEMENT SHOULD BE FOUND"Speaking at a meeting in Brussels, European Union Term President Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said that he opposed Germany and France's proposal to give an 18-month deadline to Turkey to implement the Ankara Protocol. He stated that Turkey's EU accession process should continue. EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso also said that the EU should fulfill its commitments to Turkey and called on all member states to lend support to the Commission's advisory decision. Moreover, Parliamentarians Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) head Rene Van Der Linden stated that there was no need to create a crisis, and called on everybody to show patience. "Time will help to solve all these issues," Linden said. /Sabah/[07] ANNAN: "THE TURKISH CYPRIOTS' ISOLATION SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO AN END"Outgoing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday issued a Cyprus report, saying that the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots should be brought to an end. Annan stated that Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat had told him that the isolation of the TRNC should be ended and that he agreed with Talat. Annan further stated that both Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos should fulfill their commitments for a Cyprus resolution. "They should take action instead of declaring their intentions," he added. The report of Annan is expected to be discussed by the UN Security Council soon. /Milliyet/[08] TUSIAD: "THE EU COMMISSION'S PARTIAL SUSPENSION DECISION IS A BIG MISTAKE"Speaking at a meeting in Bursa yesterday, Association of Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen (TUSIAD) Chairman Omer Sabanci said that the decision of the European Union Commission recommending partial suspension of Turkey's talks was a big mistake, saying that the EU was trying to put hurdles in Turkey's path. "But they won't succeed in this," he said, adding that the first mistake of the EU was accepting the membership of Greek Cyprus in 2004 without a resolution on the island. Stressing that Turkey should sit at the negotiating table without accepting a "privileged partnership" proposal, Sabanci added that this wouldn't be the last crisis in Turkey's EU process. "The EU reforms meet the needs of Turkey," said Sabanci. "The reforms are being fulfilled for Turkey's economic and political development." /Milliyet/[09] GREEK FM BAKOYANNIS: "TURKISH-EU TIES AFFECT GREEK-TURKISH RELATIONS"Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis yesterday said that European Union- Turkish relations affect ties between Athens and Ankara. Responding to main Greek opposition party PASOK's warning that a possible crisis in Turkish-EU relations would affect Turkish-Greek relations, Bakoyannis said, "Of course Turkish-EU relations affect the relations between our two countries. But the issue is the EU taking a common stance and sending a clear message to Turkey. It's not easy to reach a consensus in the EU, but we'll work for it." /Star/[10] BRITISH HOUSE OF LORDS DECRIES EU'S "INSULT" TO TURKEYEight members of Britain's House of Lords yesterday published an open letter entitled "An Insult to Turkey" in The Daily Telegraph. The lords harshly criticized the European Union, saying, "Partly suspending Turkey's negotiations with the EU is an insult to the Turkish nation. Turkey, which is a secular state and an important member of NATO, is being pushed towards Islamic radicalism. The EU is wrong. It is unacceptable to explain the issue through using the Cyprus problem." /Hurriyet/FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS… [11] A PAUSE IN OUR ROAD TO THE EU?BY MUSTAFA ERDOGAN (STAR)Columnist Mustafa Erdogan comments on last week's recommendation of the EU Commission. A summary of his column is as follows: "The European Union Commission last week released its recommendation that eight chapters of Turkey's EU accession talks should be frozen. The reason for this decision is that Turkey didn't open up its ports to the Greek Cypriots, which is a requirement of the Ankara Protocol. According to EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Turkey is responsible for this situation. However, if we look at the recent efforts for a solution on Cyprus, we can say that it's not a fair approach. Because after the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power, Turkey fulfilled its commitments on the Cyprus problem and the Turkish Cypriots showed in the 2004 referendum that they favor a solution on the island. The Greek Cypriots, on the other hand, haven't shown any inclination towards a solution, and the EU took no diplomatic initiative to convince them to make efforts for a solution. Under these conditions, the EU is making things difficult by requesting new steps from Turkey in line with the Greek Cypriots. Though it is strange that Turkey isn't fulfilling its requirements towards an EU member, this odd situation can only be overcome with mutual good will. Therefore the EU linking Turkey's EU membership bid to the Cyprus issue instead of contributing to a UN solution is a stance lacking integrity. So I hope that the diplomatic efforts of Turkey and some EU members will prevent a decision on this at the coming EU summit. I also hope that this situation will make the EU start a genuine initiative towards a UN solution on Cyprus. If the EU really attaches importance to Turkey's membership and a democratic regime in the country, then it will see that the recommendation was a mistake, because such a decision would weaken the hands of the government and those who favor democracy in Turkey. I'd also like to say that full EU membership isn't the only cure for Turkey. It's also not the last stop on our road towards freedom and prosperity. However, it's clear that possible EU membership would make a considerable contribution to our people's efforts for this." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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