Category: EU Members

European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 17 Dec. 2004

Queen offers sympathy to Poland after president’s death

The Queen has expressed her “deepest sympathy” to the Polish government and people after the death of President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash.

Gordon Brown said the whole world would be “saddened” and Tory leader David Cameron called it a “black day”.

Rev Canon Bronislaw Gostomski, a priest at a Polish church in West London, was among those who died in the crash.

Members of the community in London are gathering at a Polish cultural centre in Hammersmith to lay flowers.

The president’s wife, Poland’s army chief, central bank governor, MPs and leading historians were among more than 80 passengers on board the flight.

Officials say his aircraft came down as it tried to land in thick fog at Smolensk airport, western Russia.

‘Just speechless’

Among the dead was the Rev Gostomski, the Polish president’s personal chaplain and the parish priest at St Andrew Bobola Polish Church in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.

A colleague, Father Marek Reczek, told the BBC Rev Gostomski was a popular figure who had been in office for eight years.

“It is a very difficult time for our parishioners. Many of them have been coming into the church to pray,” he said. “They have been crying.”

He said a special mass to honour the memory of Rev Gostomski will be held next Tuesday at the church, starting at 1900.

At the Polish Information Centre in Hammersmith, Szymon Nadolski said it did not matter if people supported the president.

“They are still our president and intellectuals,” said the 30-year-old. “I think everybody will be united regardless of who they support.”

Monika Skowronska, vice chairman of the Polish Social and Cultural Association, said she knew one of the passengers – Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last President of the Polish Government-in-Exile.

“I’m in complete and utter shock. I am trying hard not to cry. People are just speechless,” she said.

‘Biggest tragedy’

Members of the Polish community in the UK have been e-mailing the BBC since the news broke.

Marcin, from London, said: “I was shocked when I discovered what happened in Smolensk this morning.

“It is the biggest tragedy in the history of Poland, because so many very important people have died at the same time.”

Many of the messages make reference to the purpose of the president’s visit to Russia.

Maciej, also from London, said: “What makes this news more sad is that they were flying to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, which was such a blow to our nation.”

The Katyn forest massacre was the mass murder of thousands of Polish officers and intellectuals, carried out by Soviet forces in 1940.

Sabina Kubica, originally from Krakow but now living in Edinburgh, wrote: “I’m absolutely shocked and deeply sad. This might be one of the darkest days.”

Mr Brown broke off from campaigning in Scotland to pay tribute to the Polish president.

“I think the whole world will be saddened and in sorrow as a result of the tragic death in a plane crash of President Kaczynski and his wife Maria and the party that were with them,” he said.

“We know the difficulties that Poland has gone through, the sacrifices that he himself made as part of the Solidarity movement.

Mr Cameron said he was a “very brave Polish patriot who stood up for freedom”.

“He suffered hugely under communism and always stood up for his beliefs, and for his great faith in his country,” he added.

BBC

April 10, 2010
Polish President Lech Kaczynski ‘in plane crash’

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and scores of others are believed to have been killed in a plane crash in Russia.

Officials in the Smolensk region said no-one had survived after the plane apparently hit trees as it came in for landing in thick fog.

Several other government figures, including the army chief of staff, were also thought to have been on board.

They were in Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when the Soviets killed thousands of Poles.

The BBC’s Adam Easton in Warsaw says the crash is a catastrophe for the Polish people.

He says Prime Minister Donald Tusk was reportedly in tears when he was told.

Plane ‘hit trees’

The Russian emergencies ministry told Itar-Tass news agency the plane crashed at 1056 Moscow time (0656 GMT).

Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said it had been flying from Moscow to Smolensk, but had no details on the identities of those killed.

Smolensk regional governor Sergei Antufiev told Russian TV that no-one had survived.

“As it was preparing for landing, the Polish president’s aircraft did not make it to the landing strip,” he said.

“According to preliminary reports, it got caught up in the tops of trees, fell to the ground and broke up into pieces. There are no survivors in that crash.

“We are clarifying how many people there were in the [Polish] delegation. According to preliminary reports, 85 members of the delegation and the crew.”

Russian investigators said there were a total of 132 people on the plane.

Controversial figure

The president was flying in a Tupolev 154, a plane that was designed in the 1960s and capable of carrying more than 100 passengers.

Our correspondent says there had been calls for Polish leaders to upgrade their planes.

As well as the president and his wife, Maria, a number of senior officials were also said to be on the passenger list.

They included the army chief of staff Gen Franciszek Gagor, central bank governor Slawomir Skrzypek and deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer.

Mr Kaczynski has been a controversial figure in Polish politics, advocating a right-wing Catholic agenda.

He has opposed rapid free-market reforms and favoured retaining social welfare programmes.

BBC

April 10, 2010
Racism in Germany

I am not racist, but very frequently you hear these words in Germany, and they are often used before a tirade against foreigners. Of course, racism is a worldwide phenomenon, but it is a fact that Germans have a reputation for being an extremely racist people. Many Germans are very offended by this and claim that it is not true. Haven’t we taken in more refugees than all other European Union member states together? Don’t they owe their lives to us? Don’t we give them homes? What is racist about that? These are tirades that they argue vehemently. However, if you look at the matter more closely, you will see that those arguments are neither sufficient nor convincing.

If you look at the way refugees are treated instead at how many there are living here, you will not exactly find proof for Germany’s anti-racism. Some refugee camps are so run-down and filthy that even animals would be extremely unhappy there. Some refugees live in rooms without windows, and if they earn money, they even have to pay for such a place to live.

Moreover, even decent refugee camps are always very dangerous places, because they are popular targets for crazy neonazis who might throw bombs at them. This has happened far too often already. There is a huge amount of hatred behind all that. What is worst, and what scares me very much, is that nothing is really being done about neonazis. Even their political party called NPD (Germany’s nationalistic party, or Nationalsozialistische Partei Deutschlands) still exists, which I find unbelievable, especially considering Germanys history. To me, even the resemblance of that party’s name to Hitler’s NSDAP (Germany’s Nationalist workers party, or Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), which existed during the Third Reich, is very offensive. However, it is not only neonazis that foster so much hate against foreigners. Near my home town, for example, an African was killed by policemen some years ago.

Germans always claim to be tolerant and open-minded towards other cultures. This might be true for certain cultures, namely those similar to our own, like people from Europe, North America or Australia. However, the picture is totally different with foreigners from more exotic places, especially for those with a dark skin. Among those, refugees are certainly the least popular inhabitants of Germany, but they are by no means the only kind of foreigners being ostracized. I have nothing against them, but they should keep to themselves, and so should we, many Germans argue, completely unaware of the contradiction within this statement. For reasons probably not even clear to them, many people think that spending time with blacks will ruin someone’sreputation.

Any person who believes that the German society is not racist should look at the way many parents react when their daughter or son has a black partner. Some will even refuse to regard their child as a member of their family any longer. Moreover, Germans with black partners walking along the street will merely be stared at if they are lucky, or if not, they will be called abusive names. Watching such scenarios will surely make anyone at least doubt the fact that Germans are friendly towards foreigners.

As usual in such matters, one should be careful not to generalise. There are German people who are extremely open-minded. An old lady once invited me and an African friend to sit with her in the tram and spoke to us in a very friendly way throughout our journey. However, I have found such people and situations to be the exception. Certainly there is some degree of racism in any country, but I still have to say that Germany gives a particularly bad picture, especially compared to other European countries. During my holidays in Sweden, Ireland or England I have walked along the street with African, Japanese and Indian people, and I have never been stared at as I have in Germany.

To me, it is apparent that there is far too much racism in my country and that it must be fought with much more determination than politicians are showing at this stage.

The Cheers

A comment from a reader

Andreas Muller says on 2010-02-18 22:07:24 about Racism in Germany

Of course we are racist as German and we are very proud on that. But there are many racists in USA too. Racism in USA is other matter. Now the topic is about this fact, that Germans are centre of extreme racism and it’s true. Our racism is hidden and modernized into sadistically making pain to foreigners. We ruin the life of foreigners and we conspire against them. For us the foreigners are like home animal or prisoners. We as Germans want to make a new spread fascism around the world by our lobbies in other countries.

April 9, 2010
Turkey and Greece hope better ties lower defense costs

By SELCAN HACAOGLU

ANKARA, Turkey

Turkey and Greece on Thursday announced a series of measures to build confidence between the rival neighbors, including joint military training designed in part to ease years of tension over airspace and sea boundaries and a local arms race.

Turkey’s Foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the new moves ultimately could help limit arms spending.

As well, 10 key ministers, including those in charge of foreign and European Union affairs as well as energy and economy would meet at least twice a year, Davutoglu and Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas announced.

The ministers said their armies would increase cooperation through joint training and conferences. The move is designed to encourage Turkish and Greek officers, who have for decades regarded each other as potential enemies, to work with each other.

The countries have been at odds for years over flight procedures over the Aegean Sea border. For decades, their warplanes have often engaged in mock dogfights.

“The measures will boost confidence between the two peoples and armies,” Droutsas told a joint news conference with Davutoglu.

Greece is suffering from a severe economic crisis and plans to cut defense spending in 2011 and 2012. Responding to a question over whether Turkey would follow Greece’s lead, Davutoglu said that there would be no need for arms spending if the neighbors could build a “common future.”

“We have a vision and it is not based on mutual threat but on mutual interests,” Davutoglu said. “If we manage to build a common future, there will be no need for defense spending.”

Davutoglu pointed out that his government has already reduced military spending, saying the government has spent more on education than arms in recent years.

EU-member Greece supports Turkey’s membership bid in the European Union, hoping that it will help solve territorial issues. The largest snag is the divided island of Cyprus where Turkey keeps about 40,000 troops.

Turkey began EU membership talks in 2005, but negotiations on some policy have been frozen over Turkey’s refusal to allow ships and planes from Cyprus to enter its ports and airspace, and the EU says Ankara must open its airspace to the EU member if it wants to get closer to membership itself.

In return, Turkey insists on the lifting of what it says is the unofficial trade embargo on the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north of the island, which was divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north following Turkey’s 1974 invasion.

Businessweek

April 9, 2010
European Cold War defence alliance dissolved

(BRUSSELS) – The Cold War-era Western European Union defence alliance, set up in the wake of World War II, has been dissolved, the organisation’s presidency said in a statement Wednesday.

The WEU was formed by Belgium, Britain, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in 1948 and expanded to include Germany, Italy, Spain and others, but its role disappeared with NATO and the EU providing security in Europe.

“The WEU has therefore fulfilled its historic role. That is why we, the states party to the modified Treaty of Brussels, have collectively decided to end the treaty and thereby close the organisation,” the statement said.

The 10 member states have requested the presidency to wind up the organisation’s operations in their entirety by the end of June 2011.

In a separate statement, Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere said: “From a budgetary point of view, maintaining the WEU became difficult to defend.”

Vanackere added that he hoped the defence dialogue carried out by the WEU would continue in some form or another.

A week ago, the head of the assembly Robert Walter said “the WEU as an organisation will be wound down within a year or so.”

The WEU’s founding principles were “to afford assistance to each other in resisting any policy of aggression”, and “to promote unity and to encourage the progressive integration of Europe”.

The very year after it was formed the eclipse of the western European body began with the formation of NATO, with the key inclusion of the United States.

But it became outdated as the Cold War ended, with the 27-nation European Union and NATO presiding over a largely peaceful Europe.

According to a European diplomat, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband wrote this month to the WEU’s British delegation informing it of Britain’s intention to renounce the body’s founding treaty within the coming days.

Including associate and observer nations, the WEU is made up of 28 countries including most of the EU members along with Iceland, Norway and Turkey.

It currently has a budget of 13 million euros (17 million dollars) and a staff of 60.

The body’s inter-parliamentary assembly is based in Paris while the official headquarters moved to Brussels a decade ago.

Walter said he expected official notification of the decision to wind the body down to be made by the end of the month.

The WEU’s functions have been diminishing for years.

A decision was taken in 2000 to scrap ministerial meetings, since when all decisions have been taken by written procedure.

Britain, less attached to the idea of European integration than France, Spain and others, had remained more interested in the WEU due to its nature as an intergovernmental institution.

The last nail in its coffin was the passage in December of the EU’s reforming Lisbon Treaty, which includes an assistance clause and permits the creation of ad hoc inter-parliamentary groups.

Nonetheless Walter said he hoped, with London’s support, that the WEU could be succeeded by a “permanent conference” of representatives of national parliaments in Europe.

, 31 March 2010

April 2, 2010
Is time running out for a reunification deal in Cyprus?

Is time running out for a deal in Cyprus?

Later this month elections in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus could see President Mehmet Ali Talat being ousted in favour of a hardliner, Dervis Eroglu.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by Greek Cypriot extremists, bent on union with Greece.

Mr Talat was elected in 2005, having promised to deliver a reunification deal with the Greek Cypriots but, despite being locked in talks with his opposite number, Demetris Christofias, for the past 18 months he has been unable to announce a deal.

Both Greece and Turkey say they want the issue resolved and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon visited Cyprus in February and urged both sides to show “courage”.

In 2004 a previous deal, the so-called Annan Plan, was approved by Turkish Cypriots in a referendum but rejected by Greek Cypriots.

Do you live in Cyprus or were you born there? Do you think the two communities will ever be able to live together? What do you blame for the failure to reach a deal? What do you think the main sticking points are? You can tell us your experiences using the form below. If you are happy to be contacted by the BBC, please include your phone number.

, 2 April 2010

April 2, 2010