DID WE FORGET THE EU? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
The European Economy Summit will be held on July 1-3 in Salzburg,
Austria. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and State Minister Kemal
Dervis are expected to participate in the meeting to be hosted by
Austrian President Thomas Klestil. The main topic of the meeting
will be the enlargement process of the European Union. /Turkiye/
European Parliament's member of the Greens Group, Daniel Cohn
Bendit and the Socialist Group's reporter to Turkey, Hannes
Svoboda came to Ankara. These European parliamentarians met the
Turkish Minister of Justice, Hikmet Sami Turk, yesterday. They
will meet with the Deputy Prime Ministers Mesut Yilmaz and
Husamettin Ozkan today. It was stated that Bendit and Svodoba
also requested appointment from the Minister of the Interior,
Sadettin Tantan. /Sabah/
Some tens of thousands of people are expected to march all over
Turkey to mark the May Day. In an effort to prevent any violence,
police have taken high security measures on the avenues of big
cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. In Ankara, thousands
will gather today in Tandogan Square. According to the
information received from the police, 3,800 police will be on
duty. In case of an emergency, additional security personnel will
join forces with them. /Turkish Daily News/
Turkey and Jordan have taken another step to strengthen relations
in the fields of cultural and scientific cooperation. The two
countries have enjoyed close relations in the Middle East unlike
some other Arab countries which severely criticized growing
Turkish-Israeli bilateral relations. The latest step came in the
field of culture as Jordan and Turkey agreed yesterday on closer
cultural and scientific cooperation, setting the stage for
exchanging information on their rich folkloric traditions and
archaeological sites. /Turkish Daily News/
Israeli Land Forces Commander Staff Gen. Iftah Ron-Tal visited
Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Sener Eruygur yesterday. The
guest commander was welcomed by Eruygur at a ceremony to mark his
arrival at the Turkish Land Force Headquarters. /Turkish News/
The US Department of State's annual report regarding the global
terrorism pointed to a decrease in the number of terrorist
activities in Turkey last year. The report said, terrorist
activities have declined due to Turkey's successful and
determined struggles. It emphasized, however, terrorist groups'
threats against Turkey are continuing. Regarding the PKK and
Hizbullah terrorist organizations, the report said Turkish
security forces dealt great blows on those organizations during
last year's operations. /Turkiye/
The third regional training program on fight against drugs and
organized crimes has begun. 18 security officials from
Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Croatia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldovia, Uzbekistan, Romania, Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Ukrania and Greece are
attending the program to end on May 11. /Turkiye/
The World Mining Congress' 82nd International Organization
Committee's meeting was decided to be held in Turkey next year.
During the last meeting of the committee, held in Morocco on
April 17-20, the proposal which envisages next meeting to be held
in Antalya on Oct. 7, 2002 was accepted. More than 200
representatives from 50 countries are expected to join the
meeting. /Turkiye/
Parliamentarians Assembly of the Council of Europe presented the
Honor Flag Award this year to Izmit which was largely destroyed
by the Marmara Earthquake. The decision which meant Izmit was
declared as an European city was conveyed to Izmit Mayor Sefa
Sirmen. Chairman of Award Committee Franciszek Adamcyzk sent a
letter to Sirmen stating the award aimed to improve solidarity
among the European cities. /Milliyet/
The Leader of True Path Party (DYP) Tansu Ciller will travel to
the US. A DYP delegation including Deputy Chairman Ufuk Soylemez
is expected to accompany her. Ciller is expected to sound the US
intentions about recent developments in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
Delivering a speech at the "Turkey and Europe" seminar organized
by DaimlerChrysler Firm, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said
Turkey aimed to reach the necessary level to begin full
membership negotiations within three years. Stating National
Programme was an outcome of both Turkish and foreign accord,
Yilmaz said this program belongs to Turkey, not only to a single
government. Yilmaz stated economic relations were the locomotive
of Turco-EU relations. Arguing attempts towards becoming a full
EU member were an important opportunity for Turkey to overcome
all her problems, Yilmaz added Turkey demands to realize her
short-term objectives within a year and long-term ones in the
possible shortest time. Stating Turkey wanted to transform the
crisis to an opportunity he also claimed National Program and new
economic program complement each other. /Cumhuriyet/
Turkey's first private initiative concerning natural gas market,
Egegaz Joint Stock Company Aliaga Natural Gas Terminal will open
by the second half of 2001. The Terminal was introduced to the
press by the representatives from American E-Tech firm and Egegaz
Joint Stock Company. /Cumhuriyet/
Almost half of the $14.3 billion extended by the IMF will be
received in next two months. State Minister for the Economy,
Kemal Dervis, said the IMF will release $3.9 billion portion of
the credit if it approves the letter of intent in May. The amount
which will be received from the IMF will reach $6 billion in
June. A $1.1 billion will be obtained also from World Bank as
program and project credits. The internal report prepared with
regard to the letter of intent by the IMF will be not be kept
confidential, rather it will be released in accordance with the
principle of transparency. /Milliyet/
At a press conference following the IMF Finance Committee
meeting, IMF Chairman Horst Kohler said, "The economic program is
Turkey's. The responsibility for its implementation belongs to
the Turkish government. We fully support the program." Meanwhile,
International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) affiliated to
the IMF praised Turkey's new economic program and said the
program deserves international finance sector's support.
/Turkiye/
The government hopes to benefit from exports and it is planning
to bolster the export sector with new regulations, Finance
Minister Sumer Oral said yesterday. The new regulations will come
into effect through a decree over the next few days. Oral said
delays in value-added tax (VAT) repayments was the most urgent
problem of exporters, and the government was considering new
regulations to stop these delays. The Finance Ministry hopes to
ease joint liability in VAT repayments and it wants to speed up
the repayments, said Oral. Teams of auditors, accountants and
inspectors will work to accelerate VAT repayments. The teams will
focus on eliminating the repayments which have been left from
previous periods. The measures will come into effect over the
next few days, stated Oral. Export companies which make their
payments through banks will be more comfortable with regards to
VAT repayments. /Turkish News/
During the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) and the World
Bank's spring meetings in Washington, the Argentine Economy
Minister, Domingo Cavallo, and the Turkish State Minister
Responsible for the Economy, Kemal Dervis, were among the names
who were mostly spoken about. Cavallo spoke to 'Hurriyet' daily
and said, "I met Dervis during a banquet where he made
presentations. I viewed Dervis as perfect, I hope he also liked
my speech. Dervis prepared a very consistent economic program and
also ensured the support of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). I believe that he and the economic program he prepared
will be successful." Meanwhile, the Chairman of the IMF, Horst
Kohler, said it is very likely that the economic program prepared
by Dervis will be successful. /Hurriyet/
Member of the Executive Board of DaimlerChrysler Group of
Services, Dr. Klaus Mangold, resembled Turkey to a treasury
waiting to be uncovered. Mangold, stating that he was considering
Turkey's future as bright, added, "The dynamic and young
population is among the elements that should be taken into
consideration by the foreign investors. The foreign investments
will begin to develop thanks to the structural precautions taken
by the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
loans. Turkey's location is also a decisive bridge in terms of
economy between Asia and Europe." /Hurriyet/
The head of Daimler Chrysler, Jurgen E. Schrempp said his company
has confidence in Turkey and Europe should also support Turkey.
Schrempp delivered a speech prior to the concert of Berlin
Philharmonia Orchestra yesterday in Istanbul. Schrempp said,
"Europe with all its global companies like Daimler Chrysler
should extend support to Turkey. Turkey is both a geographical
and cultural bridge between East and West. We should do our best
in this transition period, so that Turkey can be a full EU
member." /Milliyet/
The heads of Koc Holding, Dogan Holding, Eczacibasi Holding,
Isbank, Sabanci Holding, Dogus Holding, Cukurova Holding, Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchange(TOBB), Turkish
Association of Industrialists and Businessmen(TUSIAD), Turkish
Employers Union Confederation(TISK) and Istanbul Chamber of
Industry(IS0) convened yesterday to evaluate current political
and economic conditions in Turkey. Following the meeting they
issued a joint declaration. The declaration said, "Though
positive developments occured in Turkish economy recently, the
economy is still very fragile. Serious measures should be taken
and implemented. No effort was spent until now to solve the
problems concerning employment, production, exports and our
competitive power. Turkish industrialists felt compelled to
invest abroad and no measures were taken to prevent the outflow
of foreign capital. We appreciate the structural reform effort of
the government and Parliament, but it is a shortcoming not to
receive Turkish private sector's views on these programs. A
rather limited progress has been made in privatization so far.
Therefore, the privatization calendar should be designed
immediately and finalized. The enactment of the new Banking Law
without consulting with the Banks' Union and resorting to the
principles of rule of law would give irreparable damage to the
economy. A joint commission comprising of the technical staff of
TOBB, TUSIAD and TISK will prepare a draft on the possible
amendments to the Constitution, Parties' Law, Election Laws and
this draft will be discussed at next meetings." /Milliyet/
The Treasury announced its borrowing program and said it would
redeem 5 quadrillion TL and will borrow a minimum of 5
quadrillion TL through five biddings. The Treasury will organize
another bidding at the end of the month and extend the term to
392 days. However, the amount of its borrowing during this
bidding has not been announced yet. /Sabah/
The Central Bank will announce the monetary program in two weeks.
Governor of the Central Bank, Sureyya Serdengecti, made an
explanation in Washington, where he went to attend the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank meetings,
and said, "Parallel to the discussion of the letter of intent by
the IMF, the monetary program will be announced until the end of
May. We aim to ensure the liquidity of the markets in the short
term. We can make a limited intervention in the fluctuation of
the foreign exchange. However, it should not be expected from the
Central Bank to determine the foreign exchange and interest
rates. /Milliyet/
Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) announced
yesterday that it has extended a bidding deadline for Demirbank,
one of the 13 banks under administration, until June 18. The
authority was expected to conclude the bidding process by the end
of April. "Some of the investors interested in Demirbank have
demanded extra time to prepare their final bids," the TMSF said
explaining its move. The fund announced yesterday that the
Military Pensioners' Fund (OYAK) was also allowed to partake in
the Demirbank bid. /Turkish Daily News/
Following the announcement of the new economic program, financial
markets settled down after the second economic crisis in
February. The Istanbul Stock Exchange Index rose by 54 % in a
month. The dollar parity declined from 1,300,000TL to
1,148,000TL. /Milliyet/
Three Turkish firms received General Motors (GM) International
Supplementary Industry Award. It was stated 165 firms from 20
countries were awarded this year. /Cumhuriyet/
Erciyes University Birdwatching Club (ERKUS) stated that 152 bird
species had been observed in Kayseri last year. Environmental
Engineering Faculty Professor Uygar Ozesmi stated all observation
reports had been gathered and a book had been published. /Turkish
News/
Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the effect of the economic crisis
on the priorities of Turkey. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"Due to the economic crisis the membership to the EU is almost
forgotten. There is no talk of the National Programme considered
to be the road map for EU membership and consequently the reforms
which have to be carried out for this purpose...It is natural for
the severe economic crisis to shove other issues aside. However,
there is a close tie between the National Program prepared for
the EU and the economic program to overcome the crisis. The two
programs are in complete harmony. The economic and political
reforms have to be implemented together.The recent crisis has
provided an historic opportunity to realize this necessity and to
act resolutely. A seminar organized by DaimlerChrysler Co., in
Istanbul titled "Turkey and Europe" discussed this issue. The
statement by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen was
read by his deputy and covered important messages. Verheugen said
that Turkey must implement political reforms to enter the road
for full EU membership and comply with the Copenhagen criteria
without any reservations. Within this context, Verheugen said
that the EU expected Turkey to end the hunger strikes in the
prisons going on for months. Another issue mentioned by Verheugen
was Cyprus. The EU Commissioner did not hide his concern over the
issue and said that time factor was gaining more importance by
each passing day. An official close to Verheugen said that a year
later the EU would take up the membership issue of Cyprus and
decide on it. If there is no progress on the problem, only the
membership of the Greek Cypriot Administration could be taken up.
The conclusion reached after the speeches delivered by Deputy
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and member of the EU Parliament
Renate Sommer is that there is still a difference of mentality
between Turkey and the EU. Turkey is determined to integrate with
the EU. However, she wants to implement the reforms in the time
periods mentioned in the National Program. The obstacles put by
those who are against this integration have not been overcome
yet. Turkey expects the EU to understand her dilemma and give her
a chance by lending her support.On the other hand, the EU expects
Turkey to adhere to the conditions set for EU membership to the
letter and act flexibly on the Cyprus issue. Verheugen and other
diplomats are expressing this desire in a softer tone while Dr.
Sommer puts it more bluntly. She says that all candidates are
equal and no privilege can be recognized to Turkey. This is the
lastest situation on the road to the EU."
