A LOOK AT THE NEW EU CONSTITUTION
BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Addressing the opening ceremony of a new exhibit of
Ottoman-era technology in Istanbul, Parliament Speaker
Bulent Arinc yesterday spoke on the new European
Constitution signed on Friday by Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
“Through signing the Constitution, Turkey has made good
progress on its path towards the EU,” Arinc remarked.
“It’s a milestone for our membership bid because
European countries have shown that they take us very
seriously.” In related news, over the weekend Arinc also
received the European Award of Politics, the top
accolade of the European Foundation of Culture. /Star/
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the
Aegean city of Denizli over the weekend. Addressing a
crowd at the opening of a new Justice Palace building,
Erdogan said that his government was continuing its
efforts to raise the standard of living of Turkey’s
citizens. Touching on the government’s recent decision
to attach all hospitals to the Health Ministry, Erdogan
called on the citizens to pay no heed to deceptive
rumors such as that free treatment would no longer be
offered. He added that his government had also begun
preparations for a nationwide mass housing program for
low-income citizens. After meeting with local
businessmen, the premier returned to Ankara last
evening. /Turkiye/
In Rome on Friday to attend the signing ceremony for the European
Union’s new Constitution, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan met with his Spanish counterpart Rodriguez
Zapatero to discuss Turkey’s EU membership bid. During
their meeting, Erdogan said that the proper political
stance was very important for promoting the nation’s EU
bid. “With determination, a leader can positively sway
his nation,” he said, adding that a majority of Turkey’s
public favored its EU membership. For his part, Zapatero
said that unlike other nations, Spain would not hold a
referendum on Turkey’s membership. Later, speaking to
Italian daily La Reppublica, Erdogan criticized the
opposition of some EU member state leaders to Turkey’s
membership bid, but declined to name names. /Milliyet/
Turkey has lent active support to the Greater Middle East Initiative
(GME), a long-term transformation project aiming to
establish peace and stability in the region by improving
people’s welfare, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told
Parliament over the weekend. “We’ve expressed our view
that no transformation project can be successful without
winning the hearts and approval of the region’s people,”
he said. “We’re happy that Ankara’s views have been
taken into consideration in the preparation of
international documents on the issue. Change cannot be
imposed from without, but must be supported from
inside.” /Star/
The trial of former Energy and Natural Resources Ministers Cumhur
Ersumer and Zeki Cakan is scheduled to begin tomorrow
morning at the Supreme State Court. The members of the
Constitutional Court will try the ministers for
allegations of corruption during their terms in office.
Prosecutors are reportedly seeking prison terms for the
former ministers of 1-10 years. /Turkiye/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) National Unity Party (UBP)
leader Dervis Eroglu’s efforts over the last week to
form a new coalition government have failed. Eroglu is
set to meet with President Rauf Denktas this morning to
ask that he be relieved of the assignment, and Denktas
is expected to call for early elections in January. Last
month the TRNC’s nine-month old Republican People’s
Party (CTP)-Democratic Party (DP) coalition government
resigned due to its lack of a majority in Parliament.
/Turkiye/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali
Talat over the weekend accused the Greek Cypriot
administration of blocking the development of Turkish
Cyprus’ economy. “The Greek Cypriot administration knows
very well that sitting at the negotiating table with an
economically powerful Turkish Cypriot state would make
things harder for it, so they are constantly trying to
hinder our economic development,” he argued. “They want
us to remain isolated, poor and dependent on foreign
countries.” /Star/
Greek Cypriot Parliament Speaker Dimitris Hristofyas said yesterday
that first Turkey should first recognize Greek Cyprus
before beginning its European Union accession talks.
Speaking to Greek daily Katimerine, Hristofyas said that
Ankara recognizing Greek Cyprus would be important for
its EU aspirations. /Milliyet/
Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Valinakis said yesterday that his
government had no intention to veto beginning Turkey’s
accession talks with the European Union at the December
EU summit, but added that these negotiations would be
difficult. “Turkey should know that it has no
alternative to the EU,” said Valinakis. /Cumhuriyet/
Onur Oymen, deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) as well as Turkey’s ambassador to NATO, over
the weekend charged that the government had signed the
EU Commission’s recent report on Turkey without reading
it carefully enough. “Joining the EU without the report
being corrected would be a mistake,” he said.
“Open-ended negotiations cannot be accepted. Moreover,
the report recommends permanently restricting Turkish
workers’ right to free movement. The commission’s
recommendation is full of traps. The right to free
movement is one of the Union’s basic principles, so this
condition is unacceptable. Besides, the EU Commission
also recommended that Turkey re-open trade with Armenia.
In signing the report, the government neglected these
important points.” /Star/
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen over the weekend attended the World
Economic Processing Zone Association’s (WEPZA) annual
meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. “In the years to
come, the logistics of the free trade zones will be more
important than their financial advantages,” said Tuzmen,
who has chaired WEPZA for two terms. “Our work on
improving cooperation between these zones is
continuing.” /Star/
Visiting Sanliurfa over the weekend, State Minister for the Economy Ali
Babacan said yesterday that the government was nearing
completion of a new three-year economic program. “We
hope to complete the program by Dec. 1 and present it to
EU officials at the Dec. 17 EU summit,” added Babacan.
/Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on the new European Union Constitution
signed in Rome last week. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“The European Union’s new Constitution was signed in
Rome on Friday by the presidents, prime ministers and
foreign ministers of the 25 EU member states. The 81st
anniversary of the Turkish Republic fell on the same
day. Candidate countries Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania
only signed the Constitution, which will go into effect
in 2009, in its final stage. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul signed on
Turkey’s behalf. Bulgaria and Romania are due to become
EU members soon, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania will
apply for membership. What will Russia’s stance be? How
close to the EU will Turkey be in 2009?
The European Economic Community, the EU’s forerunner,
was first established with the 1957 Treaty of Rome. In
1962, Prime Minister Ismet Inonu declared Turkey’s
intention to join. Last week Chief of General Staff Gen.
Hilmi Ozkok advised caution in the leadup to the Dec. 17
EU summit. Friday’s signing ceremony was a
self-confident, simple but magnificent event surrounded
by remnants of the Roman Empire. Europe was united as a
single power for the first time in 2,000 years. However,
the EU’s total defense budget is less than that of the
US. Likewise, the current EU isn’t the world’s greatest
military power, as Rome was 2,000 years ago. The new EU
Constitution needs to be approved in member states’
Parliaments or else through public referendums. This
Constitution will be discussed through 2009, and certain
of its articles could be changed.”
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the newly signed Constitution of the
European Union. A summary of her column is as follows:
“The EU member states will explain the new
Constitution to their publics, because it is EU public
opinion which will have the final say on it. Turkey has
closely followed the Constitution’s preparation and
therefore I assume that our prime minister, foreign
minister and other officials and bodies know something
about it. Since we are readying ourselves to become
European citizens, we have to learn about this
Constitution. Let’s begin to understand it by trying to
answer this question: ‘What kind of Europe?’
The EU is an area where 25 countries with a total of
453 million citizens share common values. The
Constitution stresses that it is a region of peace
created through rules aiming at peace and prosperity.
The concept which Europe sees as a guarantee of peace is
‘the existence of differences within the Union.’ Nobody
wants others to become like them, but in the interests
of harmony, mutual altruism constitutes the essence of
the EU.
The Constitution aims at deepening the share of
sovereignty. Its purpose is to establish a real union
among European peoples and nations to make Europe a
single actor on the international stage. Furthermore,
the basic rights of European people gain legal power.
The section on citizenship says that European
citizenship is a supplement of national citizenship and
cannot replace it.
The European Parliament will become more influential.
The EP will approve laws as the Council of Ministers.
Its authority has been expanded into fields like
controlling the Union’s borders and approving the
budget. The EP will also choose the leader who will
represent Europe for two-and-a-half years. The purpose
of the Constitution is to bring Europeans closer to each
other.
The EU seems to be determined to become an
influential actor in world politics. Within the
framework of joint security policy, the Constitution
says that ‘if a member state faces an attack, other
members will com to its aid.’ The Constitution granting
member states the opportunity to establish defense
integration should also be underlined. Even the
framework of the EU Constitution shows Turkey that it
has no choice besides becoming an EU member. We won’t
approve the EU Constitution, but we were present at its
establishment and we will soon claim our rights within
its framework. When approved, it will also be our
Constitution.”
