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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-03
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
03.10.2005
EU TO DECIDE ON TURKEY’S
TALKS TODAY
ERDOGAN: “ANKARA HAS BACKUP
PLANS FOR UNEXPECTED EVENTS IN THE ECONOMY”
ARINC CALLS FOR THE NATION
TO BE CALM OVER EU PROCESS, SAYS TURKEY PASSING
PATIENCE TEST
GUL COULD BE IN LUXEMBOURG
TODAY
FRENCH FM: “ANKARA
BEGINNING ITS EU TALKS DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL JOIN
THE UNION”
BRITAIN’S STRAW WORKS FOR
FINAL FRAMEWORK DEAL
VIENNA INSISTS ON
“ABSORPTION CAPACITY” CLAUSE, ANKARA REFUSES
SOLANA: “NEGOTIATIONS WILL
BEGIN AS SCHEDULED”
MHP CALLS ON GOVT TO REJECT
EU
EDELMAN WARNS EU NOT TO
TURN BACK TURKEY
MOLYVIATIS: “THIS
OPPORTUNITY SHOULDN’T BE MISSED”
AHERN: “NEGOTIATIONS
SHOULD START TODAY”
TUSIAD HEAD: “ANKARA’S EU
PROCESS SHOULD END WITH FULL MEMBERSHIP”
AGAR: “ANKARA CAN’T
CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU WITHOUT MAKING
CONCESSIONS”
AUSTRIAN DELEGATION VISITS
ANKARA TODAY
SEVKET GURSOY JOINS AKP
WRESTLER HAMZA YERLIKAYA
BECOMES THREE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
SITUATION FROM THE HALL TO
THE STREETS BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
CONTENTS
[01] EU TO DECIDE ON TURKEY’S TALKS
TODAY
[02] ERDOGAN: “ANKARA HAS BACKUP
PLANS FOR UNEXPECTED EVENTS IN THE ECONOMY”
[03] ARINC CALLS FOR THE NATION TO
BE CALM OVER EU PROCESS, SAYS TURKEY PASSING
PATIENCE TEST
[04] GUL COULD BE IN LUXEMBOURG
TODAY
[05] FRENCH FM: “ANKARA BEGINNING
ITS EU TALKS DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL JOIN THE
UNION”
[06] BRITAIN’S STRAW WORKS FOR FINAL
FRAMEWORK DEAL
[07] VIENNA INSISTS ON “ABSORPTION
CAPACITY” CLAUSE, ANKARA REFUSES
[08] SOLANA: “NEGOTIATIONS WILL
BEGIN AS SCHEDULED”
[09] MHP CALLS ON GOVT TO REJECT EU
[10] EDELMAN WARNS EU NOT TO TURN
BACK TURKEY
[11] MOLYVIATIS: “THIS OPPORTUNITY
SHOULDN’T BE MISSED”
[12] AHERN: “NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD
START TODAY”
[13] TUSIAD HEAD: “ANKARA’S EU
PROCESS SHOULD END WITH FULL MEMBERSHIP”
[14] AGAR: “ANKARA CAN’T CONTINUE
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU WITHOUT MAKING
CONCESSIONS”
[15] AUSTRIAN DELEGATION VISITS
ANKARA TODAY
[16] SEVKET GURSOY JOINS AKP
[17] WRESTLER HAMZA YERLIKAYA
BECOMES THREE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION
[18] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[19] SITUATION FROM THE HALL TO THE
STREETS BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
[01] EU TO DECIDE ON TURKEY’S TALKS
TODAY
The 25 European Union foreign ministers met yesterday evening in
Luxembourg to discuss Turkey’s accession talks
Framework Document. During the gathering,
reportedly no clear result was obtained due to
the opposition of Austria. A final decision is
expected to be reached at a meeting to be held
this morning. Meanwhile, Turkish officials are
closely following developments. Yesterday
afternoon, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met
with Foreign Ministry officials as well as
Economy Minister and chief EU negotiator Ali
Babacan. Furthermore, in the evening, Babacan
held talks with his economy staff including the
Treasury undersecretary and Central Bank
governor. In addition, speaking at a gathering
of the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP) in Kizilcahaman yesterday, Gul reiterated
that he would not travel to Luxembourg without
seeing the framework document and that Ankara
would not accept any other alternative other
than full membership. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN: “ANKARA HAS BACKUP
PLANS FOR UNEXPECTED EVENTS IN THE ECONOMY”
Speaking at a party retreat in Kizilcahamam over the weekend, Prime
Minister and ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
that Ankara had contingency plans for unexpected
events, adding that no one should expect adverse
economic shocks anymore. “Our economy is no
longer vulnerable,” he said. “We’ll continue our
way without sacrificing determination, our
atmosphere of confidence, and fiscal
discipline.” Touching on Turkey’s looming
European Union accession talks, Erdogan said
that Turkey was at a turning point and passing a
critical test. “We’ve done our best to begin our
EU talks and now it’s the EU’s turn to do so,”
he said. “The EU’s decision will not hurt our
progress in human rights and democracy, no
matter what.” Erdogan further stated that the EU
decision would determine the future of the EU
since it would decide whether to be a global
actor or continue to be a Christian Club.
/Sabah/
[03] ARINC CALLS FOR THE NATION TO
BE CALM OVER EU PROCESS, SAYS TURKEY PASSING
PATIENCE TEST
Appearing on CNN Turk yesterday, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said
that Turkey wouldn’t leave the negotiating table
during its talks with the European Union.
“Ankara will sit at the negotiating table if the
EU decides to do so,” he said and called for the
nation to stay calm in this process. “We’re
passing a patience test,” he added. /Milliyet/
[04] GUL COULD BE IN LUXEMBOURG
TODAY
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will attend today’s official opening
ceremony in Luxembourg if the European Union
foreign ministers have agreed on a document
which can be accepted by Turkey. As the decision
from Luxembourg was waited for yesterday, the
Foreign Ministry was ready for a positive
result. If the EU foreign ministers reach an
agreement, Gul will go to Luxembourg for the
intergovernmental conference. The official
opening of the negotiations will start with a
meeting between British Foreign Minister Jack
Straw and Gul. During Gul’s visit, Turkey’s EU
chief negotiator Ali Babacan, Foreign Ministry
Deputy Undersecretary Volkan Bozkir, Deputy
Director General for EU Affairs Selim Yener, and
ministry spokesman Namik Tan will company him.
Reportedly in Gul’s speech, to avoid seeming
argumentative, he will not dwell on Cyprus
dispute. Instead, he will stress the importance
of Turkish membership for the EU and stress that
Ankara’s main aim is full membership. Gul will
also underline that the place to solve the
Cyprus issue is the UN, not the EU. /Milliyet/
[05] FRENCH FM: “ANKARA BEGINNING
ITS EU TALKS DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL JOIN THE
UNION”
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said yesterday that
Ankara beginning its accession talks with the
European Union didn’t mean that it would
inevitably join the EU. “Telling Ankara that
negotiations mean joining the Union would be a
lie,” he said, claiming that since the EU will
make many requests of Ankara, the process would
be difficult. /Sabah/
[06] BRITAIN’S STRAW WORKS FOR FINAL
FRAMEWORK DEAL
EU Term President Britain’s Foreign Minister Jack Straw yesterday
conducted intense diplomatic contacts during the
most critical hours of Turkey’s European Union
journey. Before his arrival in Luxembourg,
speaking to the BBC, Straw warned that leaving
Turkey out of the EU would increase the
religious and political divide between Muslims
and Christians, and asked for the fulfillment of
the pledges made to Turkey. Straw also warned
that not starting the negotiations with Turkey
would be a failure for the EU. Then Straw spoke
to Olli Rehn, the European Union enlargement
commissioner, and held bilateral meetings with
George Iacovou, foreign minister of the Greek
Cypriot administration, and Ursula Plassnik,
foreign minister of Austria. Before the dinner,
Straw tried to persuade Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul, who said he wouldn’t go to
Luxembourg if unacceptable terms such as
anything less than full membership were included
in the framework document. /Aksam/
[07] VIENNA INSISTS ON “ABSORPTION
CAPACITY” CLAUSE, ANKARA REFUSES
British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday worked to clear Austria’s
objection against Turkey’s European Union
membership. Just before the European Union
foreign ministers’ meeting, Blair called
Austria’s Prime Minister Wolfgang Schuessel and
asked him to avoid steps which would lead to a
crisis. During the official meetings, all 24 of
the other EU members refused to support Austria.
But when Austria wasn’t convinced, it was
decided that a modification be made to the
negotiation framework document. During a short
break, the foreign ministers of EU Term
President Britain and Austria compromised to
modify the document. Consequently, the EU’s
“capacity to absorb” another country was added
to the draft document. Ankara is refusing the
modification, which could mean “privileged
partnership” in lieu of full membership. /Aksam/
[08] SOLANA: “NEGOTIATIONS WILL
BEGIN AS SCHEDULED”
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, speaking yesterday
to a French newspaper, said that the problems
between the EU and Turkey would be solved and
its negotiations for full membership would begin
as scheduled on today, Oct. 3. “Suppose we say
no; then let’s consider the picture we may have
25 years later,” added Solana. “If a great
calamity takes place in the Middle East and a
great oil and energy crisis ensues, we will
regret not having accepted Turkey. The strategic
position for the US and the EU and the situation
in Iraq, Iran and the whole region should be
considered. Turkey’s remaining as close as
possible to us is within our interests. Turkey
is a stability factor for security and peace.”
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] MHP CALLS ON GOVT TO REJECT EU
Thousands of ultranationalists from throughout the country gathered in
Ankara yesterday to voice their opposition to
the possible start of Turkey’s European Union
membership accession talks. Addressing the
meeting, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader
Devlet Bahceli called on Premier Recep Tayyip
Erdogan to reject the EU membership talks,
adding that the process would harm Turkey. “Our
country can stand on its own two feet,” said the
MHP leader. /Star/
[10] EDELMAN WARNS EU NOT TO TURN
BACK TURKEY
Deputy Defense Secretary Eric Edelman, until recently the US ambassador
to Ankara, said yesterday that the European
Union rejecting Turkey’s membership would cause
instability in the region. “In light of
everything else that is going on in the wake of
9_11, in Afghanistan, in Iraq and following the
bombings in Madrid and London, to say ‘no’ to a
secular, democratic open society — what message
does that give to all those other countries and
societies to whom we have been giving the
message that we want you to start down this road
of accommodation and modernity, of separation of
mosque and state?” Edelman told the Times of
London. "If the answer turns out to be ‘Well, no
matter what you do, you won’t get in, you can’t
be accepted in the community of democratic
nations of open societies and open economies’,
the consequences will be significant and
long-lasting and not positive.” /Turkiye/
[11] MOLYVIATIS: “THIS OPPORTUNITY
SHOULDN’T BE MISSED”
Greek Foreign Minister Molyviatis yesterday said: “There is an historic
opportunity for Turkey over its EU membership
and losing this would be a great mistake.”
Molyviatis added, “Some people are unhappy about
the negotiation framework, but I personally
believe that if Turkey misses the chance it
would be a huge mistake.” He also said that
Turkey should overcome its shortcomings both
inside the country and outside. Molivyatis also
added that if Ankara’s entry talks start today,
it would be a turning point for the
Turkish-Greek relationship. / Cumhuriyet/
[12] AHERN: “NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD
START TODAY”
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said yesterday that Turkey’s
negotiations should start today as scheduled.
“Negotiations should start today as we agreed
last December,” Ahern told Sky TV. “I don’t
think that there should be new requirements at
this stage.” He also added that the Turkey’s
membership negotiations with EU will take some
time. /Milliyet/
[13] TUSIAD HEAD: “ANKARA’S EU
PROCESS SHOULD END WITH FULL MEMBERSHIP”
Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Chairman
Omer Sabanci said yesterday that today, Oct. 3,
was an important date for both Turkey’s
relations with the European Union and Turkey’s
EU membership, adding that Ankara’s EU bid was
an irreversible process. “This process should
result in full membership,” said Sabanci.
/Hurriyet/
[14] AGAR: “ANKARA CAN’T CONTINUE
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU WITHOUT MAKING
CONCESSIONS”
Speaking at a meeting of his party over the weekend, opposition True
Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar predicted
that Ankara’s accession talks with the European
Union wouldn’t continue without it making
concessions. Agar stated that Turkey’s EU
journey began four decades ago, saying that
those who called the EU a Christian club in the
past now advocated the Union. He stressed that
the EU was an integration and unity project
which had succeeded in the world. “Therefore EU
membership will boost welfare, happiness,
democracy and democratization in Turkey,” he
said, adding, however, that while resolution of
the Cyprus issue was not a precondition for
Turkey’s EU bid now it was. /Turkiye/
[15] AUSTRIAN DELEGATION VISITS
ANKARA TODAY
Austrian Parliament Speaker Andreas Khol with an accompanying
delegation is expected to arrive in Ankara today
to pay a visit at the invitation of his Turkish
counterpart Bulent Arinc. Tomorrow, Khol is set
to hold bilateral meetings in Parliament and
then hold talks with European Union
Harmonization Commission Chairman Yasar Yakis
and Foreign Affairs Commission head Mehmet
Dulger. He will also be received by President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. After holding a series of
contacts in Istanbul, the Austrian delegation
will leave Turkey. /Star/
[16] SEVKET GURSOY JOINS AKP
Adiyaman independent Deputy Sevket Gursoy yesterday joined the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) ranks. With
his action, the AKP raised the number of its
seats in Parliament to 356. /Star/
[17] WRESTLER HAMZA YERLIKAYA
BECOMES THREE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION
Turkish wrestler Hamza Yerlikaya yesterday became world champion for
the third time in Hungary’s World Greco-Roman
Championship. /Hurriyet/
[18] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[19] SITUATION FROM THE HALL TO THE
STREETS BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya comments on the weekend Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) rally in Ankara and relations
between Turkey and the European Union. A summary
of his column is as follows:
“I was at the Parliament’s ceremony hall
Saturday evening to attend a reception to mark
the new legislature year. The only issue on
people’s lips was the European Union. Everybody
was focused on Austrian Ambassador to Turkey
Marius Calligaris that night. He met with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, EU chief
negotiator Ali Babacan, almost all the Cabinet
ministers, Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat
Hisarciklioglu and journalists. Even this stage
showed that Austria, which is a small country,
reached its aim to become the key actor
concerning Turkey, something it doesn’t deserve
at all. I spoke with Mr. Erdogan briefly. When
journalist Ercan Yavuz asked Erdogan if he was
hopeful, he said, ‘Don’t worry. If it’s going to
happen, it will happen.’ He was so relaxed that
he meant to say, ‘We did our best. The rest of
the matter concerns the EU.’ He actually met
with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and
Austrian Prime Minister Wolfgang Schussel before
the reception. I also spoke to foreign policy
advisor Egemen Bagis, who is close to Erdogan.
He said, ‘Our EU membership talks will start. We
should get used to this bargaining and tension.’
The Parliament speaker, prime minister, the
highest commanders, bureaucrats,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), that is,
those who direct Ankara’s pulses, were a little
concerned, hopeful and curiously waiting for the
news to come from Brussels and the decision to
be taken by Luxembourg. They said to themselves,
‘We will probably start membership talks, but
how can we continue this process with this
stance of EU leaders?’
I was at Tandogan Square in Ankara 14 hours
after the reception, that is, on Sunday
afternoon. I was worried how crowded the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) rally would be.
I could hardly get to the press bus. MHP deputy
leader Mehmet Sandir was surprised when he saw
me. I asked him about the mass rally. He said,
‘We decided to hold this magnificent rally to
warn the government and prevent it from making
concessions at a time when it’s closest to
making a mistake.’ Obviously, MHP leader Devlet
Bahceli was well prepared for his speech. It was
crowded enough to make MHP leaders happy. Maybe
it can be said that the enthusiasm and tension
was low at the meeting square, but it was a very
important and successful event in terms of
political strategy. The media was closely
interested and foreign TV channels were also
there. Bahceli warned the government not to go
to EU membership talks. However, if the MHP were
in power, what would it really do concerning the
EU issue? I’m curious.”
ARCHIVE
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