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Turkish Press Review, 06-12-12
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
12.12.2006
CONTENTS
[01] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS TURKEY'S MEMBERSHIP PROCESS
[02] BLAIR CALLS PM ERDOGAN TO REITERATE HIS SUPPORT FOR TURKEY'S EU BID
[03] MERKEL PLEASED WITH EU DECISION TO PARTIALLY FREEZE TURKEY'S PROCESS
[04] FINNISH PM: "WE DIDN'T FULFILL OUR COMMITMENTS TO TURKEY"
[05] ITALIAN STATE MINISTER BONINO: "TURKEY'S EU PROCESS SHOULDN'T BE JEOPARDIZED"
[06] CICEK: "THE TRNC CAN'T BE SACRIFICED"
[07] ARINC VISITS CHIEF OF STAFF GEN. BUYUKANIT
[08] MILITARY HOUSING BUILDING COLLAPSES DUE TO HEATING SYSTEM EXPLOSION
[09] ECLIPSED
[01] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS TURKEY'S MEMBERSHIP PROCESS
European Union member states' foreign ministers, meeting ahead of a summit
of EU leaders later this week, yesterday discussed Term President Finland's
draft proposal on Turkey in Brussels. At a press conference following
debates over how many chapters should be affected by Turkey's refusal to
open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus, Finnish Foreign
Minister Erkki Tuomioja, accompanied by EU foreign policy chief Javier
Solana and EU Commissioners Olli Rehn and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said that
in line with an earlier recommendation from the EU Commission, the
ministers had agreed to suspend eight chapters related to the Customs
Unions out of 35 total and not close any other chapters until the EU
Commission verifies that Turkey has fulfilled its commitments related to
the ports dispute. Also speaking to reporters, Rehn said they had made a
balanced decision. Stressing that the EU needed a stable, democratic Turkey,
Rehn added that Turkey's accession to the bloc would show that Islam is in
harmony with democracy, human rights and European norms. /Turkiye/
[02] BLAIR CALLS PM ERDOGAN TO REITERATE HIS SUPPORT FOR TURKEY'S EU BID
British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday spoke with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan over the telephone and reiterated his support for Turkey's
European Union bid. The conversation between the two leaders coincided with
the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels where Turkey's situation was
being discussed. During the conversation, Turkey's EU process was discussed
in light of Turkey's proposal last week to open one port and one airport to
the Greek Cypriots. Stating his support for Turkey's initiative, Blair also
said that his country's support for Turkey's EU bid would continue.
/Hurriyet/
[03] MERKEL PLEASED WITH EU DECISION TO PARTIALLY FREEZE TURKEY'S PROCESS
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pleased with the European Union foreign
ministers' decision to partially freeze Turkey's negotiation process.
Merkel's spokesperson Ulrich Wilheim said that decision taken in Brussels
took into consideration Turkey's not fulfilling its responsibilities
related to the Ankara Protocol, adding, "It's important that the EU heads
of state and government examine Turkey's developments in an orderly way."
Greek Cypriot administration Foreign Minister Georges Lillikas said, "It's
important to set a timetable for whether or not Turkey will fulfill its
responsibilities to the EU." Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said
that her country would determinedly maintain its stance during Turkey's EU
negotiation process. "I favor suspending many chapters," she said. Dutch
Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said that the negotiations should be suspended
on 10 chapters. /Cumhuriyet-Star/
[04] FINNISH PM: "WE DIDN'T FULFILL OUR COMMITMENTS TO TURKEY"
European Union Term President Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
yesterday acknowledged that the European Union had not fulfilled its
commitments to Turkey. According to news channels NTV and CNN-Turk,
Vanhanen told reporters, "Yes, that's right. The EU didn't fulfill its
commitments. But Turkey should fulfill its commitments." Meanwhile,
Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said that lifting the embargo
from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and approval of the
additional protocol were separate issues. He said that Turkey's taking a
step would be seen as positive but the main issue was full implementation
of the additional protocol. In related news, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel
de Gucht made a speech giving full support fto Ankara and saying the Greek
Cypriots bore the main responsibility for the difficult situation. Swedish
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that there were legal and political
promises given to Turkey and that the EU should fulfill its commitments on
certain issues. European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said
that the EU needs a stable, democratic Turkey, adding, "Turkey is a
component of stability in the most unstable region of the world and a
threshold for democracy in the Middle East." /Milliyet/
[05] ITALIAN STATE MINISTER BONINO: "TURKEY'S EU PROCESS SHOULDN'T BE
JEOPARDIZED"
Italy's Minister for European Policies Emma Bonino yesterday said that
Turkey's EU membership process shouldn't be jeopardized. Criticizing those
who use the Cyprus issue as an pretext to block Turkey's membership, Bonino
said, "The benefits of Turkey's EU membership for Europe, the Mediterranean
and Italy require avoiding the risk of suspending this process." She added,
"I hope that the summit of heads of state and government this Thursday and
Friday will state that Turkey's membership is necessary. Both the EU and
Turkey should fulfill their commitments. We're expecting the EU summit to
encourage Turkey's steps on the path to membership." /Star/
[06] CICEK: "THE TRNC CAN'T BE SACRIFICED"
The Cabinet ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
yesterday discussed Turkey's relations with the European Union and recent
developments on the matter. Following their nearly seven-hour meeting,
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters that Greek Cyprus was putting
obstacles before Turkey, adding that Ankara would never sacrifice the just
cause of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for its goal of EU
membership. Cicek said Turkey would continue its diplomatic efforts to
reach these two goals. Commenting on recent claims that top Turkish leaders
had not been informed about the government's proposal last week to the
European Union Commission on the Cyprus issue, Cicek stated that the
government was trying to do its best on Turkey's behalf and there was no
time to waste on domestic bickering. /Turkiye-Sabah/
[07] ARINC VISITS CHIEF OF STAFF GEN. BUYUKANIT
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday paid a courtesy visit to Chief of
General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. Afterwards, Arinc told reporters that
during his nearly one-hour meeting with the top commander, he had
congratulated Buyukanit for his taking office as chief of General Staff in
late August, adding that they had had very friendly and sincere talks.
/Sabah/
[08] MILITARY HOUSING BUILDING COLLAPSES DUE TO HEATING SYSTEM EXPLOSION
A five-story residential building for military families in the southeastern
province of Diyarbakir collapsed yesterday morning due to an explosion of
its heating system. The disaster took six lives and injured eight. Rescue
workers are trying to save two other people still trapped under the debris.
Officials stated that an investigation of the accident is underway. /Aksam/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[09] ECLIPSED
BY ENIS BERBEROGLU (HURRIYET)
Columnist Enis Berberoglu comments on Turkey's relations with the EU and
next year's presidential election. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Some people considered the suggestion to open one harbor and one airport
to the Greek Cypriot a departure from state policy. When the state and
politics started to fight, Brussels started to watch. In other words, some
Turkish people attempted to sell out the country, but the EU didn't show
concern over this? Is this right? Let me tell you what actually happened.
The EU train could have gotten back on track, but now there's no way. This
is a hole in the state's 50-year policy. I hope this is advantageous for
all of us! The Presidential Palace said that it didn't know about the new
proposal, which saddened the Foreign Ministry staff.
It seems that when TV stations broke the story of the proposal based on
Finnish sources, they reported that the Presidential Palace had been told
that Turkey's stance on the Cyprus issue was unchanged. President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer sat at the table with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for
a National Committee meeting with this information. Anyhow, the General
Staff was visited earlier this week. Following the National Committee
meeting, the chief of General Staff and the prime minister talked for a
short while. After Erdogan left the Presidential Palace, the president and
chief of General Staff talked for half an hour. When I asked why Erdogan's
views weren't sought, those who are angry with Erdogan said that this is
how the state's order operates. So let me ask in accordance with the
state's tradition: Why hasn't Sezer called for a National Security Council
(NSC) meeting? Isn't the NSC the proper place for the military and
civilians to talk about these issues? Actually, the suggestion made by
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was approved by the NSC. Do you know what's
the only difference between the suggestion made to Finland and the other
suggestion? The condition of one year, in other words, Turkey's right to
withdraw its suggestion. The answer to the Finnish plan wasn't discussed at
the NSC, as no meeting has been held since Oct. 31. The NSC will convene
again this month, but it's hard to tell what will happen there. Its date
and what it will discuss are still unclear. The argument over the harbor
proposal eclipsed those over next year's presidential election. It
overshadowed all the discussions. Maybe having general elections earlier
than next fall would lower the tension. However, considering this crisis of
confidence, it seems Erdogan's opponents will put barriers to him reaching
the Presidential Palace.
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