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Category: EU Members

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

Merkel: Turkey’s EU bid must be kept ‘on track’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Monday she had hesitations over Turkey’s full membership in the European Union but said the entry process should nevertheless be kept “on track.”

“We are going through an open-ended negotiation process… Although I have reservations on full membership, I certainly want to keep the talks on track,” Merkel told a joint news conference in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The chancellor also said that she was in favour of opening a new chapter among the 35 in the body of EU law that Turkey has to complete before the bloc’s members can make a decision on full membership.

“First of all it will be good to open one chapter and then it will proceed step by step,” said Merkel.

Merkel however urged Turkey to implement the Ankara protocol to extend a customs union agreement to internationally recognised Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004.

“Otherwise we won’t be able to keep opening chapters,” she said in translated remarks.

Turkey has refused to implement the protocol to open its air and sea ports to EU-member Cyprus until the Union moves on its pledge to ease the international isolation of the island’s breakaway Turkish-held north.

Ankara also refuses to acknowledge the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government until a full settlement is reached.

Turkey’s stance prompted the EU in 2006 to freeze eight of the 35 chapters in the accession process. Thirteen have since been opened to keep the talks alive.

Germany is one of the EU heavyweights, along with France, opposed to Turkey’s membership in the 27-nation bloc and has instead offered “privileged partnership,” a tailored version that falls short of Ankara’s aspirations.

Merkel also raised the issue of jailed journalists in Turkey and asked Ankara to create an environment where “journalists can work freely.”

Turkey frequently comes under fire for the record number journalists it holds behind bars, severely tarnishing its image as a candidate nation.

Erdogan however said the number of journalists jailed for their profession were fewer than the “fingers of a hand,” and claimed many were jailed for illegal activities, including robbery and man slaughter.

Germany has not vetoed any of the negotiating chapters of the EU law — which cover human rights, economic, environmental and other issues — unlike France, which blocked five under right-wing former President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Chancellor Merkel also has hesitations about Turkey’s membership to the EU but I have to give her credit. She is not blocking my chapters,” Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis told news agency AFP last week.

A public opinion poll published on Sunday revealed unease among Germans regarding Turkey’s EU entry, with six out of 10 surveyed opposed. Germany has a sizeable Turkish population of about three million.

France said this month it was ready to resume talks with Ankara on one chapter, breathing life into the fledgling talks.

Ankara welcomed the move as a sign of a change of heart in Europe and demanded stronger support from Berlin and Paris for a “fair chance” in its membership process.

Turkey, an associate member of the old European Economic Community since 1963, first sought to become an EU member in 1987 but only launched formal accession talks in 2005.

Germany is one of Turkey’s most important trading partners, with bilateral trade at $35 billion (€26 billion) annually, according to Erdogan. Merkel later Monday was to attend a Turkish-German economic forum in Ankara.

The chancellor, whose last visit was in March 2010, arrived in Turkey on Sunday and headed to the southeastern city of Kahramanmaras near the Syrian border to visit German troops stationed there since January.

The 300 German troops are operating two Patriot batteries brought in to protect NATO member Turkey from any conflict spillover from Syria.

Merkel also visited the ancient Anatolian town of Cappadocia, where she met with Christian minorities and toured the open air museum famous for its display of early Christian heritage.

AFP/mry

via Merkel: Turkey’s EU bid must be kept ‘on track’ – The Local.

February 26, 2013
Germany green lights Turkey to EU talks ‘hoping for Turkish votes’

“In recent times, negotiations have stalled somewhat and I am in favor of opening a new chapter in order to move forward,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Turkey for an official visit.

Meanwhile, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the delay in talks ‘unforgivable.’

Previously Merkel`s conservative Christian Democratic Union spoke against full Turkish membership, favoring ‘privileged partnership’ status for the country.

One reason for the possible change in the party course is fishing for future votes, Manuel Ochsenreiter, political analyst and journalist, told RT.

Given that there are 3 million Turkish people in Germany, now “when we see that Angela Merkel`s party is now slowly becoming weaker… we can see that there are certain politicians from this party hoping for the Turkish votes in future.”

However, Ochsenreiter warns, Turkey should think twice before joining the EU and sacrificing its sovereignty.

According to the journalist, the European Union is by no means a democratic project, but an ideological project, brought together by the European Commission and European politicians.

“Ask the people [in Germany] if they want to send troops to Syrian border. They will say ‘no’. Ask if they want to send troops to Afghanistan, they will say ‘no’. Ask them if they want to bail out countries like Greece and Italy… they will say ‘no’. The European Union is a construction without any democratic base,” he explained.

He said we are only left to hope that Turkey demonstrates more democratic organization and puts the issue of full EU membership to a national referendum.

Meanwhile, a recent survey revealed that almost two-thirds of Turkish people are against their country joining the union.

via Germany green lights Turkey to EU talks ‘hoping for Turkish votes’ — RT Op-Edge.

February 26, 2013
Turkey Patriots will cost the country $8.5mln a year

Askerlerin maaşını da Türkiye ödüyor, daha hala da gelmeye naz ediyorlar!

The Turkish media have quoted the Defence Ministry as saying that hosting the six Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries sent to southeastern Turkey by NATO will cost the country $8.5mln a year.

Two of the batteries are from the US, two, from Germany, and two, from the Netherlands. They are supposed to protect Turkey against an air attack from across the country’s border with Syria.

In a series of incidents last autumn, artillery shells fired from Syrian territory killed 5 people in a village in southeastern Turkey.

Voice of Russia, RIA

via Turkey Patriots will cost the country $8.5mln a year: Voice of Russia.

February 25, 2013
Iranian, Turkish, Greek musicians team up for Istanbul concert

TEHRAN – Three kamancheh virtuosos from Iran, Turkey and Greece have come together to perform a concert at the Cemal Resit Rey Hall of Istanbul on March 5.

Kayhan Kalhor from Iran, Derya Turkan from Turkey, and Sokratis Sinopoulos from Greece will perform the concert entitled “Night of Kamancheh”, the Cemal Resit Rey Hall announced on Saturday.

The musicians have organized the program to highlight the power the Iranian instrument.

The Iranian santur virtuoso Ali Bahrami-Fard will also accompany the group in some performances.

They will perform classic pieces of their own country as well as some improvisations during the concert.

Kalhor has previously collaborated with some international musicians.

The most recent one was his joint performance with the Turkish baglama player, Erdal Erzincan, at the GlobalFest, New York’s annual world music festival in January 2013.

SB/YAW

END

via Iranian, Turkish, Greek musicians team up for Istanbul concert – Tehran Times.

February 25, 2013
Merkel Gives Turkey Hope for E.U. Membership

Merkel Raises Turks’ Hope Of European Union Entry

By MELISSA EDDY

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany arrived in Turkey on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, holding out hope for new impetus in the stalled negotiations for the country to join the European Union.

“In recent times, negotiations stalled somewhat and I am in favor of opening a new chapter in order to move forward,” Ms. Merkel said in her weekly podcast, broadcast on Saturday.

She began her tour on Sunday with a visit to German troops who are deployed along the Turkish border with Syria.

There is significant skepticism within Ms. Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union about Turkish membership in the European Union, but as Turkey has continued to grow and the economies of the bloc have stagnated, the dynamic has begun to change.

Germany and Turkey are bound tightly by the large population of Turkish guest workers who came to work in West German factories in the 1960s and remained. In addition, Turkey is one of Germany’s most important trade partners outside of the European Union, with an annual exchange of goods worth roughly $40 billion.

The country pushed through structural reforms to its economy and social services nearly a decade ago as part of its efforts to join the bloc, which have helped contribute to solid growth of about 5.2 percent annually between 2002 and 2011, according to Turkish government figures.

Günther Oettinger, a member of the Christian Democrats who now serves as the energy commissioner for the European Union, stirred debate in Berlin last week when he said in an interview with the newspaper Bild that he believed that if the European Union waited too long to revive negotiations with Turkey, it risked an eventual turning of the tables.

“I’d bet that within the next decade, a German chancellor along with their colleagues from France will go begging on their knees to Ankara saying, ‘Friends, come to us,’ ” Mr. Oettinger told the newspaper.

Turkey has complained bitterly about the lack of support from the German government for its accession campaign, which started in 2005. Recently, negotiations have all but ground to a halt over opposing views on crucial issues, including human rights and a divided Cyprus.

Ms. Merkel’s government and the Christian Democrats have for years called on the bloc to allow Turkey to achieve what they call a “privileged partnership,” instead of full membership. But important party members have begun to indicate their apprehensions toward Ankara may be changing.

France has also resisted the idea of Turkey’s full accession and, with Cyprus and the European Commission, has blocked movement on all but 13 of the 35 policy areas, called chapters, that countries striving for membership must complete. Turkey has so far completed only one.

But President François Hollande of France signaled last week that he was ready to open talks on one chapter blocked under the government of his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Prime Minister Erdogan said in Istanbul that he was hopeful that Ms. Merkel’s comments and similar remarks by Mr. Hollande meant there could be renewed movement while the Irish presidency holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, which ends in July.

“Since Ms. Merkel came to office, she has repeatedly used the expression ‘privileged partnership’ about our European Union process,” Mr. Erdogan said, according to Reuters.

He said: “Now there is change in France and a difference in the views of Germany and France. Along with Chancellor Merkel’s positive statement on opening chapters, these will pay off during Ireland’s presidency.”

On Monday, she will hold talks in Ankara with Mr. Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul.

“I think a long negotiating path lies ahead of us,” Ms. Merkel said “Although I am skeptical, I agreed with the continuation of membership discussions. We are engaging in these with an open result.”

A version of this article appeared in print on February 25, 2013, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Merkel Raises Turks’ Hope Of European Union Entry .

via Merkel Gives Turkey Hope for E.U. Membership – NYTimes.com.

February 25, 2013
Merkel Visits Troops Operating Patriots in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey February 24, 2013 (AP)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting German troops deployed to operate Patriot missile batteries in Turkey.

The Patriots were sent to Turkey, a NATO member, to protect it from spillover from Syria’s civil war.

AP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel , second right, talks to unidentified German soldiers in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, Sunday Feb. 24, 2013. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting German troops deployed to operate Patriot missile batteries in Turkey. The Patriots were sent to Turkey, a NATO member, to protect it from spillover from Syria’s civil war. Merkel’s two-day visit comes as Turkey grows increasingly frustrated over the slow progress in its bid for European Union membership. Before arriving Sunday, Merkel said she backs opening a new chapter in those stalled talks, despite being skeptical about Turkey’s accession. The chancellor’s first stop was Kahramanmaras, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border, where some 300 German troops are manning two out of six NATO-deployed anti-missile batteries. (AP Photo/dpa,Kay Nietfeld)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel , second right, talks to unidentified German soldiers in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, Sunday Feb. 24, 2013. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting German troops deployed to operate Patriot missile batteries in Turkey. The Patriots were sent to Turkey, a NATO member, to protect it from spillover from Syria’s civil war. Merkel’s two-day visit comes as Turkey grows increasingly frustrated over the slow progress in its bid for European Union membership. Before arriving Sunday, Merkel said she backs opening a new chapter in those stalled talks, despite being skeptical about Turkey’s accession. The chancellor’s first stop was Kahramanmaras, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border, where some 300 German troops are manning two out of six NATO-deployed anti-missile batteries. (AP Photo/dpa,Kay Nietfeld) Close

Merkel’s two-day visit comes as Turkey grows increasingly frustrated over the slow progress in its bid for European Union membership. Before arriving Sunday, Merkel said she backs opening a new chapter in those stalled talks, despite being skeptical about Turkey’s accession.

The chancellor’s first stop was Kahramanmaras, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border, where some 300 German troops are manning two out of six NATO-deployed anti-missile batteries.

Merkel will hold talks with Turkish leaders on Monday. She is accompanied by a delegation of businessmen.

via Merkel Visits Troops Operating Patriots in Turkey – ABC News.

February 25, 2013