ERDOGAN PLEDGES TO PASS TCK WITHOUT ADULTERY BAN; VERHEUGEN SAYS NO OBSTACLES REMAIN TO ANKARA’S ACCESSION TALKS

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently in Brussels for an official visit, yesterday met with European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen to discuss Turkey’s EU bid. During their meeting, Erdogan said that the government wouldn’t insist on the issue of criminalizing adultery in a new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) bill and complained that he had been misunderstood on the issue. “We’ll pass the TCK bill without including the issue of adultery,” he said. Later, speaking at a joint press conference alongside Verheugen, Erdogan thanked the commissioner for his contributions and added that the Parliament would pass the new TCK bill as soon as possible. For his part, Verheugen reiterated that the new TCK was very important for fulfilling the EU political criteria and that with its passage, no more obstacles would remain to Ankara’s accession talks. Verheugen added that there would be no further conditions stipulated for Ankara’s EU bid. /Aksam/

WITH TCK ROW RESOLVED, ERDOGAN AND PRODI ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met separately in Brussels with European Union Commission President Romano Prodi and European Parliament Chairman Josep Borrell. Speaking afterwards, Erdogan pledged that the Parliament would urgently discuss and pass the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) bill. For his part, Prodi called Erdogan’s visit very positive and added that the EU Commission report scheduled to be released on Oct. 6 would be just and objective. Later, speaking at a joint press conference with Borrell, Erdogan said that the issue of outlawing adultery would no longer be on the government’s agenda. He stressed that Ankara had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, adding that he believed there was no reason to say no to beginning Ankara’s accession talks. /Aksam/

GUL: “AT THE DECEMBER SUMMIT, TURKEY WILL GET A DATE TO BEGIN ITS EU TALKS”

Currently in New York to attend United Nations General Assembly sessions, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul predicted yesterday that during December’s European Union summit Turkey would get an unconditional date to soon begin its accession talks. Speaking to reporters after meeting with representatives of the US Jewish community, Gul said that his government had made great efforts on the road to EU membership and would not jeopardize this cause. “Turkey will honorably become a member of the EU, and will contribute greatly to world peace,” said the foreign minister. /Turkiye/

PARLIAMENT TO CONVENE ON SUNDAY TO PASS TCK BILL

After his meetings in Brussels with European Union leaders, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday telephoned Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials to set up a Sunday extraordinary session of Parliament in order to sweep away the last obstacle to Turkey beginning its EU accession talks. AKP deputies also submitted a proposal with 208 signatures for such a session to Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. Arinc is expected to call for Parliament to meet this Sunday, unifying the motions given by both the AKP and the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which had proposed a Tuesday session. Arinc is set to hold a press conference addressing the matter today. During the extraordinary session, the two last articles of the TCK bill will be debated. No arrangements concerning a controversial measure outlawing adultery will be on the agenda. /Turkiye/

CHP VOWS CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR TCK BILL

Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Group Deputy Chairman Kemal Anadol said yesterday that his party welcomed the end of the recent crisis regarding the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) bill. He added that his party’s support for the bill would continue. Meanwhile, CHP leader Deniz Baykal suspended his program in Trabzon scheduled for Sunday in order to attend an expected Parliament session to debate the TCK. /Turkiye/

BABACAN: “THE NEW LIRA WILL BOOST TURKS’ INTEREST IN THEIR OWN CURRENCY”

Speaking at a press conference on the new Turkish Lira, which is due to begin circulating at the beginning of next year, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday said that the re-denominated money would boost the Turkish people’s interest in their own currency, predicting that it would be easy to adopt the new lira without the current six zeros. /Milliyet/

TURKEY, ALGERIA SIGN ECONOMIC PROTOCOL

IMF: “TURKEY IS ON TRACK TO BECOME A TIGER ECONOMY”

FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...

A COMPROMISE, SANS ADULTERY
BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)

Columnist Derya Sazak comments on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:

“Ankara and Brussels have at last overcome the penal code crisis. EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels that there were ‘no more obstacles’ on Ankara’s path towards opening membership negotiations with the European Union. Moreover, European Commission President Romano Prodi stated that the commission’s progress report on Turkey due out Oct. 6 would be ‘fair and objective.’

Our Parliament is now expected to hold an extraordinary session on Sunday. Although the Erdogan administration seems to have successfully dealt with the so-called adultery crisis, Ankara should expect similar problems in the near future. Our journey to the European Union is likely to be riddled with such many crises.

When our government withdrew the penal code reform bill from Parliament after a row over a controversial clause to outlaw adultery, Europeans believed that Turkey's chances of joining the EU had been thrown into doubt. They truly saw the move as a serious deviation from the EU. Had Erdogan insisted further on the adultery issue, he would probably have lost his credibility on the continent, something difficult to recover in the eyes of the Europeans.

As a matter of fact, we should draw some lessons from the recent crisis. First of all, our decision-making mechanisms must be further democratized and our Parliament strengthened. It wasn’t Brussels which created the adultery crisis. In other words, there’s no point in insisting that the crisis erupted because of impositions from Brussels. If the government and Parliament really don’t want Brussels to intervene in our domestic politics, they should not then transform such rows into huge crises by their own hands. The adultery crisis was an artificial one, and it’s been resolved by Brussels’ pressure. But what will happen when Turkey faces more serious problems in the future? How will our Parliament prove its will then?”
 

END OF THE CRISIS
BY YILMAZ OZTUNA

Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Turkey’s future in the wake of the recent overcome crisis. A summary of his column is as follows:

“The crisis which spooked both Turkey and the EU has ended. Parliament will convene on Sunday and pass a new Turkish Penal Code (TCK), one excluding the adultery issue. Yesterday EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen announced clearly that we have fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria. Turkey has been rescued from the stain of having a second-class democracy. We will be happier in two weeks, [when the EU Commission report on Turkey is released], but our responsibilities will grow. We also will be careful and not act clumsily. This time Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s intelligence and ability, together with Europe’s common sense, saved us.

The most important issue after the EU is Iraq, that is, our place in the US’ Greater Middle East Initiative. Although the US is our strategic ally, we are far away from its strategy. We will have accession talks with the EU next year, and the Middle East’s borders will expand. Turkey’s historical fate is that it’s a European country which can easily extend into Asia.”