BORRELL AND TURKEY
BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
Religious tolerance is a valuable legacy the Turkish
Republic has inherited from the Ottoman Empire, said
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday in Antalya
at the opening ceremony of a new complex of Muslim,
Christian and Jewish worship sites. Erdogan pledged that
his government would remove any remaining obstacles to
religious freedom in Turkey. “By virtue of this great
historical experience, today Turkey is the guarantor of
peace and brotherhood in its region,” he added. “Of
course, we still have shortcomings which we’re working
to overcome as soon as possible.” Also attending the
ceremony were Dutch European Affairs Minister Atzo
Nikolai, whose country currently holds the EU
presidency, plus diplomats and the religious leaders of
Turkey’s Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities. “People
will be able to freely practice their religions in this
center, and this sends a very important message,” said
Nikolai. Father Joseph Alphonse Sammut, for his part,
said that while Catholics are able to practice their
religion in Turkey they lack property rights over
churches, but expressed hope that this would someday
change. Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Mesrob II also said
that non-Muslim places of worship should be opened in
all major Turkish cities. “This should be done either by
renovating historical sites or by building new ones, as
the one here,” he said. Chief Rabbi Ishak (Yitzhak)
Haleva hailed Turkey as a rare country where synagogues,
mosques, and churches exist side-by-side. “We’re lucky
to be citizens here,” he added. /Hurriyet/
On the eve of next week’s crucial European Union summit, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan accompanied by a delegation of
businessmen and members of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) is set to travel to Brussels in a
final push for opening Ankara’s EU membership talks.
During a meeting with EU Term President the Netherlands’
Foreign Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Erdogan will
express Ankara’s concerns over the content of a draft
statement on Turkey for the summit. Balkenende is
expected to prepare a new statement which takes into
account Ankara’s expectations. In addition, the Turkish
premier is scheduled to meet with his Belgian
counterpart Guy Verhofstadt as well as Olli Rehn, the EU
commissioner for enlargement. Erdogan will reiterate
that Ankara will not accept any “special status” in lieu
of full membership, nor will it accept any preconditions
to the talks. /Turkiye/
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday left for Brussels to attend the
fall meeting of NATO foreign ministers. As part of his
contacts, Gul first met with Olli Rehn, the European
Union commissioner for enlargement, where he laid out
Ankara’s expectations for next week’s pivotal EU summit.
He is also set to hold separate meetings with his
British, German and Spanish counterparts. Speaking to
reporters, Gul said that the EU’s draft statement on
Turkey for the summit had certain points that Ankara
found unacceptable. “We want to begin accession talks
with the EU with the clear intent of becoming a full
member,” said Gul. Asked about the Cyprus issue, Gul
said, “Without any resolution [on the island], our
recognizing Greek Cyprus is out of question.” /Turkiye/
After seeking an audience for a month-and-a-half, US
Ambassador Eric Edelman is soon to meet with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two are expected to
discuss possible help from Washington for Ankara’s EU
membership bid before the key Dec. 17 EU summit. Last
week Edelman met with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary
Ambassador Ali Tuygan. In related news, Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Namik Tan told reporters that the US and
Turkey have a multidimensional relationship and
emphasized the 50-year alliance between the two
countries. “Ankara and Washington should focus their
cooperative efforts on fighting terrorism,” he urged.
/Star/
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht warned yesterday that if at its
summit next week the European Union decides not to begin
Ankara’s accession talks, this would be an historic
mistake. Speaking to Belgian daily Le Soir, De Gucht
said that full EU membership was the best way to keep
Turkey close to Europe, adding that having the nation
serve as a bridge between the West and the Middle East
was an important benefit. “Turkey is our neighbor, and
its modernization and democracy make it a model for the
Islamic world,” he added. /Aksam/
Appearing on television yesterday, European Union Term President the
Netherlands’ European Affairs Minister Atzo Nikolai said
that his recent talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
had been frank and open, adding that there was no
tension between the two. “I told Gul that we tried to
add language to the second draft statement on Turkey
[for next week’s EU summit] upon which the European
Commission and the EU member states could agree,” he
said. “Following the meeting, we both expressed optimism
about the summit. Everybody in Europe is determined to
reach a positive decision about Ankara’s accession
talks, something I also told Gul.” /Milliyet/
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen is currently paying a two-day visit to
Oman. After meeting with Oman’s Industry and Trade
Minister Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan, Tuzmen told reporters
that Turkey might be able to attract Arab capital that
had withdrawn from Europe and the US. Calling on Oman’s
businessmen to invest in Turkey, Tuzmen said in the
future that the two countries would strengthen trade
ties. /Turkiye/
Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat
Hisarciklioglu yesterday met with visiting International
Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Riza Moghadam to discuss
a new standby agreement with Ankara expected to be
unveiled soon. Speaking afterwards, Hisarciklioglu said
that he had briefed Moghadam on measures needed for the
new economic program. “I also told him of our concerns
about sustainable growth,” he added. “We also discussed
structural reforms and what we should do to bring down
interest rates.” /Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Ismet Berkan comments on Turkey’s European Union membership
bid. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Turkey applied to join the European Union in 1987.
Two years later, the European Commission rejected its
application, but stressed that Turkey was ‘competent’
for candidate status.
In 1993, the Copenhagen criteria laid down the future
course of the EU’s enlargement process. EU leaders then
underlined that any country which manages to fulfill
these criteria would be eligible to join the Union’s
ranks.
In 1995, a decision was made to complete the final
phase of the Customs Union with Turkey, whose objectives
were originally laid down by the 1963 Ankara Agreement.
In 1997, EU leaders reiterated that Turkey was
getting closer to the doors of the Union.
Next year the EU asked the European Commission to
prepare a progress report on Turkey, though the country
was not yet an official candidate. Therefore, the EU
started monitoring Turkey with a view to the Copenhagen
criteria.
In its 1999 Regular Report on Turkey's progress
towards accession, the European Commission recognized
the country’s status as a candidate country.
The Commission's 2000 Regular Report re-confirmed
Turkey’s candidate status, stating that the debate on
the political reforms needed for the country's accession
to the European Union had already begun.
This October, the EU Commission declared that Turkey
had passed the critical threshold in fulfilling the
Copenhagen criteria and recommended that the country’s
membership negotiations should begin.
There’ a reason why I’m recounting this history: Due
to a host of recent contradictory media reports, right
now many of you may be quite confused about the course
of Turkey’s EU membership bid.
From the above perspective, European leaders have no
choice but to open Turkey’s membership negotiations.
Saying ‘no’ to Turkey now would damage Europe’s
credibility.
But why all this recent nonsense? What’s the point of
these successive drafts, each being worse than the last?
In fact they constitute a prelude to the real
process. The three top issues will be addressed by the
EU leaders themselves on Dec. 16: Opening negotiations,
the date for this, and then the famous ‘open-ended
talks’ business.
I suppose our talks will begin next October. What
Ankara must do now is ensure that, no matter whether
‘open-ended’ or not, the ultimate goal of the talks must
be full membership.”
Columnist Derya Sazak comments on Turkish-EU relations. A summary of
his column is as follows:
“Turkey is on the European Parliament’s agenda.
Before next week’s pivotal European Union summit, we’re
seeing far more diplomatic traffic and lobbying by
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Brussels than
in Ankara and Istanbul. I recently attended a two-day
international conference on ‘Turkey and the EU: Reasons
for a Historic Choice” in Brussels along with hundreds
of scholars, journalists and politicians. Many of us
discussed the draft statement prepared by EU Term
President the Netherlands for the Dec. 17 summit. In
spite of some domestic pessimism, the EP expects that
Turkey’s membership talks will begin in the second half
of 2005. The conference’s closing session offered clear
messages. EP President Josep Borrell, European Socialist
group head Johannes Swoboda and Greens group head Daniel
Cohn-Bendit all said that they were in favor of giving
Turkey a date for talks. It’s understood that an
agreement has been reached for the 2005 timetable,
excepting the EP’s Christian Democrats. However, if a
new document based on new conditions is issued before
the summit, it’s uncertain if the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) would accept a formula of
open-ended talks. It’s unclear how Ankara would present
the decision to the public and how the public would
react. European politicians also know this.
Borrell spoke of his impressions of Turkey, saying,
‘The EP will accept starting membership talks with
Turkey. Ankara should know that when we say yes, no is
simply out of the question. Even if it requires a long
and difficult negotiations process, our decisions will
be yes.’ Responding to criticism of his faux pas of
saying ‘Kurdistan,’ Borrell said, ‘The Kurdish nation
lacks national unity.’ For Borrell, EU membership
constitutes a foundation for democracy, freedom and
welfare. After Spain underwent a similar process in the
1970s, it was able to move forward under the EU.”
