Category: EU Members

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

TOP CZECH DIPLOMAT SEES TURKEY’S GEOPOLITIC IMPORTANCE AS REASON FOR EU MEMBERSHIP

SANLIURFA (A.A) – 30.05.2009 – The senior Czech diplomat in Turkey saw on Saturday Turkey’s geopolitic importance as a reason for European Union (EU) membership.

Eva Filipi, the ambassadress of the Czech Republic to Turkey, said that there were many reasons to make Turkey a full member of the EU.

Filipi enumerated these reasons as Turkey’s geopolitic and strategic importance and location.

The Czech Republic has been holding the rotating presidency of the EU since the beginning of 2009, and will hand over the presidency to Sweden as of July 1, 2009.

The ambassadress expressed her country’s full support for Turkey’s EU membership bid, and said both Turkey and the EU should be fair as much as they could and fulfil their obligations.

Filipi said that the EU was not a Christian club, and had many universal principles and values that were not related with religion.

Turkey became an EU candidate country in December 1999. The union launched accession talks with Turkey on October 3, 2005. (BRC)

Source: haber.turk.net, 30.05.2009

May 31, 2009
German-Turkish Week 2009

Amerika Haus Berlin: June 8th – 13th, 2009

German-Turkish Week 2009 aims to raise awareness amongst the German public of the history and development of the German-Turkish Community and its contributions to German society, while celebrating the richness of German-Turkish culture.

German-Turkish Week 2009 will consist of informative components such as panel discussions, speeches, and interviews, which provide insights and perspectives.

Artistic presentations including live literary readings, films, music and dance performances, artistic exhibitions, in addition to local Turkish cuisine, will showcase elements of German-Turkish culture and ensure a fun, celebratory atmosphere.

The series will be targeted at the general public in Berlin, and will be documented online through photography, written reviews, and videos, which will allow the wider international community access to the program and provide up-to-date information on recent events.

May 29, 2009
Top British diplomat reaffirms his country’s support to Turkey’s EU bid

ISTANBUL – British Foreign Secretary David Miliband reaffirmed late Tuesday his country’s support for Turkey’s bid to join the EU, saying Ankara’s full membership would bring economic dynamism into the bloc, help solve its energy security problems and build closer ties between the West and the Muslim world.

“Britain is more convinced than it has ever been that the strategic decision to support Turkey’s accession to the European Union is the right one,” Miliband, who is currently in Ankara on an official visit, told Reuters.

“It is good for Europe as well as for Turkey,” he added.

Turkey began EU membership negotiations in 2005, but progress has since largely ground to a halt because of strong opposition in some member countries like France, Germany and Austria, and disagreements over the divided island of Cyprus.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this month reiterated their opposition to Ankara joining the EU. The pair insisted that the 27-member bloc offer Turkey a “privileged partnership” instead, a move analysts described as an indicator of short-time calculations to achieve political advantage ahead of the European Parliament elections set for next month.

Miliband said the bloc should adopt a more “open outlook” and embrace the long-term benefits of Turkey’s membership provided it meets all entry criteria.

“Turkey is a particular place that would benefit Europe’s energy future. That would not have been given the priority and prominence it deserves five years ago,” he said.

Opening the doors of the EU to Turkey would be a “significant bridge to the Islamic world”, Miliband said.

“Turkey has a combination of a Muslim majority population and a proud democratic heritage. I think you can balance those things,” he added.

REFORM
Miliband, however, said Turkey needed to speed up its EU reforms. “Everyone wants to see Turkey making strides towards reforms,” he said.

“But equally we want to see a European Union that has got the right orientation and outlook, an open EU, that is something we have to work on specially at a time of economic downturn.”

“There have been significant changes if you look at the last 30 years. I think there is a new Turkey being built. I think that the direction is clear,” he said.

Miliband said another strong selling point of Turkey’s EU entry is its vibrant market economy. Economic activity is seen contracting by five percent this year due to the effects of the global economic crisis, compared to average growth of 7 percent between 2002 and 2007. The economy is expected to expand in 2010.

“Turkey will bring significant economic dynamism into the bloc. I think the debate of the Turkish economy will change in the next few years,” he said.

Miliband, who arrived Tuesday in the Turkish capital of Ankara to hold talks focused on the country’s European Union membership bid, met with Turkey’s Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis.

He met Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolgu on Wednesday, and is also scheduled to meet Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan later in the day.

Hurriyet

May 27, 2009
EC Against Racism and Intolerance Report on Germany

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Report on Germany :

EC Against Racism and Intolerance Report on Germany

May 26, 2009
Turkey urges police action on BNP flyers

Turkish Govement is acted on early and timely information received from Turkish Forum UK members.. Turkish Forum is again leading the way through its wast resources on information transfer between the Turkish communities around the world.. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INFORMED MEMBERS .. DR. KAYAALP BUYUKATAMAN, PRESIDENT-CEO, TURKISH FORUM

From The Sunday Times May 24, 2009

The country’s government is considering referring the party to the police over racist promotional material

BNP leader Nick Griffin launched his party?s European election campaign earlier this month, setting out its opposition to Turkey joining the EU

Jason Allardyce

The Turkish government has demanded the withdrawal of election leaflets distributed in Scotland by the British National party, claiming they are intended to incite racial and religious hatred.

Flyers promoting the BNP’s European election campaign suggest that millions of Turkish Muslims would flood into Britain if the country were to be granted full EU membership.

One BNP leaflet being handed out on the streets of Glasgow said taxpayers’ money “shouldn’t be wasted on expanding Europe so that millions of Muslims in Turkey can join the invasion of foreign job snatchers”.

Another urges voters to “oppose the dangerous drive backed by the other main parties to give 80m low-wage Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain”.

Officials at the Turkish embassy in London have complained to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and have suggested the matter be referred to the police because the leaflets potentially breach race relations legislation.

“It is obvious that these are racist and highly inflammatory statements which insult both Turkey and the Turkish nation as a whole and put hundreds of thousands of Turks and Turkish Cypriots who live and have been born in Britain at risk of racist abuse and attacks,” said Orhan Tung, a spokesman for the embassy.

“I think the leaflets are a clear breach of both the Race Relations Act and the Racial and Religious [Hatred] Act, which makes it an offence to distribute written material with the intent to stir up religious or racial hatred.

“We believe that the relevant British authorities such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission should consider taking legal action against the party in question.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission also criticised the material and warned that Scotland needed immigration to counter the effects of an ageing declining population.

A spokeswoman said: “Because immigration to Scotland is necessary and because we want to build the population to meet the challenges of the future, we want to work against the tension and unease rather than ignite it as the BNP seems to be doing.”

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it is examining the complaint and that the government is “firmly committed to the elimination of all forms of racism and intolerance”.

John Walker, a spokesman for the BNP, denied its literature was racist. “We oppose the creeping Islamification of Europe and our country which we see as a threat. If the Turkish embassy doesn’t like it, that’s tough – our duty is to look after Britain’s interests.”

Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, launched his party’s European election campaign earlier this month, setting out its opposition to Turkey joining the EU and putting British jobs at risk.

He claims the party could win up to seven seats in next month’s European elections. Mainstream parties fear that it may win at least one seat, including in northwest England where Griffin is standing.

May 25, 2009
Turkey rejects Cyprus warning, urges EU to keep own promises

Erdogan slammed the EU for failing to ease the economic isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)

2006-11-09 13:16:13 Today Online, November 9, 2006

Turkey rejected an EU warning that its failure to grant trade privileges to Cyprus might derail its accession to the bloc, but pledged commitment to reforms and said the responsibility of keeping membership talks on track “falls more on the EU.”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkish sea and air ports would remain off limits to Greek Cypriot vessels if the European Union fails to deliver on promises to ease trade and travel restrictions on the breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

He acknowledged there could be a “period of stagnation” in ties with the EU, but ruled out the possibility of accession talks collapsing a little more than a year after they began in October 2005.

The European Commission had issued earlier on Wednesday a critical report on Turkey’s progress towards membership, urging Ankara to improve human rights and fulfil obligations on Cyprus or face the consequences at a summit of EU leaders on December 14-15. “The Cyprus problem is a political problem and it does not constitute an obligation with respect to our negotiating process, which is of a technical nature,” a Turkish government statement said.

“An EU summit decision that will guarantee the sustainability of the process will depend on the political vision of EU leaders regarding the EU’s future,” it said. “The responsibility at this point falls more on the EU than on Turkey.” Erdogan slammed the EU for failing to ease the economic isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Ankara, under promises made in April 2004 when the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of a UN plan to end Cyprus’ 32-year division.

The plan was massively rejected by the Greek Cypriots, who joined the EU in May that year, with the Turkish Cypriots left out in the cold. “If the restrictions on the TRNC are not lifted we will not give up the determination we have displayed so far on the issue of ports,” Erdogan told reporters. “Our decision on that is definite.”

Ankara is under pressure to open its ports to the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government of EU-member Cyprus under a customs union pact with the bloc. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul pledged support for efforts by Finland, the current holder of the EU presidency, to resolve the stalemate before the critical EU summit next month.

“Turkey will maintain its constructive attitude,” he said. “We hope there will be positive developments (but) everybody concerned should display a reconciliatory and sincere will for a solution.” Ankara accuses the Greek Cypriots of using their EU membership as leverage to extract concession from Turkey on the Cyprus conflict.

With elections looming next year, the government is also under pressure due to dwindling public support for EU membership amid what Turks widely see as endless EU lecturing and demands in a process that does not even guarantee ultimate accession.

Finland’s efforts suffered a blow last week when planned talks were scrapped as the parties failed to agree on their format.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said Wednesday the Finnish proposals had no chance of success because they were “unbalanced,” the Anatolia news agency reported. “When the EU decided to lift our isolation, they did so to reward our ‘yes’ vote to the UN plan,” Talat said. “We are not obliged to give anything in return for that now.”

The Commission report also highlighted human rights problems in Turkey, including ones relating to freedom of speech, the use of torture and women’s and minority issues. Ankara said it did not agree with some of the criticisms in the report, but stressed its commitment to reform to catch up with EU standards.

“Reform is a continuous process,” the government statement said. “Naturally, we will continue to do what is necessary… The government is fully determined to do that.”

Shortly before the Commission issued the report in Brussels, Erdogan said Turkey was determined to pursue its membership goal despite the difficulties.

“Suspension, rupture… these are impossible,” he said. “Our efforts will continue. Even a country like Great Britain waited 11 years to become a full member.” – AFP

May 25, 2009