Category: Europe

Germany, France Nudge Open EU Door to Turkey

By The Editors, on 12 Mar 2013, Global Insider

In February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Turkey, indicating a willingness to help Turkey revive stalled negotiations over its longstanding bid for European Union membership. In an email interview, Rana Deep Islam, a project manager with Stiftung Mercator whose research focuses on Turkey-EU relations, explained the state of Turkey’s EU accession bid and how it could move forward.

WPR: What is behind Germany’s recent statement that it will support reviving Turkey’s EU accession process?

Rana Deep Islam: The German government under Merkel still does not have a clear-cut policy on how it wants to handle Turkey’s membership aspirations. On one hand, Merkel has said repeatedly that she prefers a so-called privileged partnership over full-fledged EU membership for Turkey. On the other hand, Germany still treads the path of negotiations and has not blocked the process as, for example, France did in the past. The German government’s announcement of support for the opening of a new chapter in negotiations reflects this seeming paradox, or German bipolarity, in the Turkey-EU context. Reviving the accession talks by extending negotiations to new domains might push the process forward in the short term. But it’s still unclear what Merkel envisions more broadly for the crucial relationship between Turkey and the EU. Nor is it clear how Merkel views the accession negotiations beyond their narrow technical aspects, which deal primarily with Turkey’s administrative and bureaucratic capacity to adopt the EU’s “acquis communautaire” — the French term the EU uses to describe the shared rights and obligations within the union.

WPR: How significant is French President Francois Hollande’s statement that he was willing to unblock accession talks with Turkey, and what are the reasons for this political shift?

Islam: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy blocked the accession talks on chapters that he believed would make Turkey’s accession inevitable. Hollande’s willingness to give up this policy definitively is a step in the right direction and creates space for diplomatic maneuvering. However, it does not turn France into a proactive advocate for Turkey’s membership. Turkey’s prospects for joining the EU will only improve significantly if Turkey succeeds in finally regaining an intra-European alliance of supporters, as France and Germany formerly were under President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Against this backdrop, Hollande’s intentions should be considered primarily strategic. First, he wanted to send a sign of good will to the Turkish government. In doing this he also passed the ball, if not the responsibility, to Ankara. Now it is up to Turkey to take up this initiative and respond appropriately. Second, Hollande’s shift needs to be seen in the context of a complex foreign policy agenda. With regard to the Middle East and North Africa, the EU cannot afford to act without Turkey on its side. France realized that reinvigorating the accession talks could be a useful tool to increase the EU’s capacity to act externally.

WPR: What are Turkey’s current EU aspirations and how likely are they to be realized in the near to medium term?

Islam: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently declared that his country wants to join the EU as a fully integrated member by the year 2023. If this does not occur, Ankara will adjust its policy accordingly and finally give up its EU ambitions entirely. But this seemingly clear articulation of Turkey’s position notwithstanding, the Erdogan government falters when it comes to adopting the norms and values of the EU, which is a precondition for accession. The domestic reform process that Erdogan pushed during the first years of his administration has slowed down significantly. Civil rights are at stake, with many journalists in jail. Apart from the “yes or no” dichotomy of the membership discourse, it is currently not clear if Erdogan still supports the Europeanization of Turkish politics and society. Joining the union, though, is not a matter of cherry-picking but of rights and duties. Therefore, refreshing the EU-Turkey membership talks also implies an imperative for a further liberalization of Turkish domestic politics. Erdogan still needs to show his willingness to seriously deliver on this front.

Photo: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (European Commission photo).

via WPR Article | Global Insider: Germany, France Nudge Open EU Door to Turkey.

March 13, 2013
Reinfeldt presses Turkey to reform terror laws

Reinfeldt presses Turkey to reform terror laws

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on Tuesday called on Turkey to overhaul its terrorism laws, used by the country’s courts to jail journalists, as he met with President Abdullah Gül.

Sweden prepares for first Turkish state visit (9 Mar 13)

EU classifies 1 percent of Swedes as ‘poor’ (4 Mar 13)

Swedes wise up about EU citizenship (28 Feb 13)

“Part of the constitution needs to clearly address the issue of freedom of the media,” Reinfeldt said during a press conference with Gül in Stockholm.

The Turkish parliament formed a special committee in May last year to draft a basic law that would replace the current constitution dating back to a military coup in 1980.

Turkey is the leading jailer of journalists worldwide, imprisoning even more than China or Iran, according to an October report by the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Many journalists were being detained under the country’s broadly defined terrorism laws, according to Reinfeldt.

“We hope that a full judicial package adopted by the government will lead to a more narrow definition of terrorism,” he said.

“This is also an issue of how it is used by free-standing courts. But we have discussed it and I think reform is now on its way,” he added.

SEE ALSO: Behind the scenes at the state dinner for Turkish president Abdullah Gül

But the Turkish leader said Europe’s high standards for freedom of speech and other human rights could make countries vulnerable to terrorism.

“Democracy, human rights, freedom of expression standards in Europe are very high. Unfortunately at times, terrorism exploits that,” Gül said.

“Those people who have something to do with terrorism… make use of this superiority of European democracies, and turn it into a weakness in a way,” he added.

Turkish intelligence services and security forces were “always in close communication” with their European counterparts and shared information when necessary, he noted.

Reinfeldt also emphasized his hope to see long-stalled negotiations on Turkey’s application for membership in the European Union get a fresh start.

“We hope to be able to open a new negotiation chapter this spring,” said Reinfeldt, explaining that Turkey had made progress on the issue of minorities rights.

“Our discussions about the rights of Kurds have clearly developed over the years.”

Gül explained that some EU member states have created obstacles for Turkey’s EU membership bid, but asserted that “that’s not a reason to give up on membership”.

Gül’s visit to Stockholm will also resulted in the signing of a strategic partnership agreement on green energy technology cooperation between Sweden and Turkey.

TT/The Local/dl

via Reinfeldt presses Turkey to reform terror laws – The Local.

March 13, 2013
Meteor is shot down over Russia!

Morgan Freeman warned us in 1998, in the film ‘Deep Impact’.

The first ever Black American president appeared on television and said:
“My fellow Americans… We are facing an ‘Extinction Level Event’.”

You probably saw in the news that a meteor exploded over Russia last
month, injuring 1,000 people…

From The Economist, 23rd February 2013:

“A 10,000 tonne meteor disintegrated over Chelyabinsk, a city in Russia
near the border with Kazakhstan. Its break-up released 500 kilotonnes
of energy, equivalent to the yield of a large nuclear bomb, blowing out
windows and injuring more than 1,000 people.

In 1908 a rock the size of a city block hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 15km
(9 miles) a second. The explosion flattened an area the size of London.

But the land in question was in Siberia, so few people noticed and those
who did had little influence. Suppose, though, it had devastated a city in
Europe or North America.

Well, it has happened again, when a meteor crashed int he Urals on
February 15th, injuring more than 1,000 people. Moreover, on the same
day, another, larger rock called 2012 DA14 passed within 27,000km
of Earth.

By astronomical standards, that is a hair’s breadth. It is time to think
seriously about stopping such incidents by building a system that can
detect space rocks with sufficient warning, and then either blast them
or push them out of the way.”

What you probably don’t know, is that another meteor exploded over
Cuba just one day later…

Meteor Explosion Over Cuba One Day After Russian Event

According to Red Orbit just one day after a spectacular meteor exploded over Russian skies, shattering windows and injuring more than a 1,200 people, Cubans were treated to a similar event, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Many of Cuba’s citizens watched in wonderment as a small fireball soared across the early evening skies on Friday before exploding. Startled residents described seeing the bright light in the sky just seconds before a thunderous boom sent shockwaves through the air, shaking windows and walls. While the Cuban meteor explosion was similar to the Russian event, it was by far smaller and, as a result, no injuries or damages were reported.

The Cuban event also occurred on the same day many Californians witnessed a small shooting star (meteorite) burning up in the night sky as it fell through Earth’s atmosphere over San Francisco.

According to NBC, one couple said they were surprised by the “bright, white fireball” streaking across the night sky. Around the same time residents in northern California witnessed a meteorite blazing across the skies overhead.

Jonathan Braidman, an instructor at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, told NBC that the California fireball was actually a small piece of asteroid. He said it is a fairly “common occurrence,” although they occur more commonly over sparsely-populated areas, perhaps where it is less likely that witnesses will observe them.

Several anonymous reports from citizens in Cuba said the explosion was impressive. One woman told state TV news agency CubaSi that her “home shook completely” and that she “never heard such a strange thing.”

It is not clear yet if the Cuban explosion was indeed from a meteor. Because Cuba lies so closely to the shores of southern Florida, it seems a major meteor streaking across the skies would have likely been spotted there as well, to which no reports have yet to surface. And a California-based telescope monitoring that specific area of sky had not picked up any unusual activity.

Scientists say that small meteorites hit the Earth several times per year, but larger events like the one over Russia are much rarer.

Professor Edwin Bergin, of the University of Michigan’s Astronomy department, told redOrbit on Friday that meteors like the Russian one “occur every 10 to 30 years or so.” And even larger ones, those larger than a half-mile wide, “occur once or twice every million years.”

As for the Russian event, a local scientist today recovered the first fragments of the giant meteor on the edge of a giant hole in a frozen lake near Chelyabinsk after a sizeable chunk of the exploded meteor came crashing down, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

Russian officials had searched the lake on Friday and Saturday but had turned up no results and suggested the hole may not have actually been caused by a meteor fragment.

However, Mikhail Udovinko, who is studying metallurgy at a local university, said he had found a small stone near the edge of the hole at the lake, and believes it is part of Friday’s meteor. He said that the stone responds to magnetism and has some weak radioactive properties.

Paul Abell, a scientist at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has compiled new data for the meteor strike and said it was traveling at 46,000 mph when it hit the Earth’s atmosphere. Earlier reports placed the top speed at around 33,000 mph.

Abell said, according to ABC News, the meteor exploded in the atmosphere because its composition is stony, rather than metallic. The famous Tunguska asteroid that exploded over Siberia in 1908 was also stony, which is why it didn’t impact the Earth.

Metallic meteors are more likely to impact earth, leaving huge craters, much like a famous one found in Arizona.

More astonishing, was the fact that the Russian, Cuban and Californian events occurred on, or around, the same day that the 2012 DA14 asteroid made a historic close approach of Earth, flying by at nearly 17,000 miles overhead, closer than our own geosynchronous satellites, which typically orbit us at 22,000 miles.

But despite the occurrences coming on the same day as the 2012 DA14 flyby, experts said that none of the meteor events are associated with that asteroid.

However, these events are causing some level of concern about what else may be out there lurking in the dark and whether the planet can be protected from future events– ones that could possibly be ten, or even a hundred, times more destructive than the Russian event.

Members of The United Nations, The White House, and even Congress have all asked to be briefed on these events, Abell said.

One ambitious plan to take out asteroids and large meteors before they take us out has already been proposed by two California scientists on Friday as well.

The proposed system, called DE-STAR, would be designed to shift the orbit of large asteroids, possibly deflecting them away from the Earth. This system is designed to utilize the energy of the Sun, converting it into an array of lasers that can also destroy, or evaporate comets and meteors.

Another system is already in the works.

Planetary Resources, a company that has lofty ambitions to mine asteroids and meteors in space, recently announced that its Arkyd-100 Series spacecraft would assist in the assessment of potentially hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth.

March 13, 2013
Accession impossible

Although a member of numerous regional and international organisations, Turkey is still not in the EU, despite negotiations dating back some 50 years. A columnist wonders if the the country has missed its chance to become anything more than an auxiliary to US foreign policy in the Middle East.

Öztin Akgüc

Since the beginning of the 1960s, Turkey has planned on joining the European Union. At the time when this process began, the union, which was then called the European Economic Community, had only six members. Today Turkey is still involved in accession talks with the European Union, which now has 27 members and will shortly welcome a 28th with the inclusion of Croatia [on July 1].

Since 1969, has also been a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank. At the same time Turkey has joined a wide range of other international organisations like the OECD, and the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), of which it was a one of the principal founders. Of course, it is also a member of NATO and, it seems, flirting with the idea of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

In view of this context, you might assume that Turkey was very much an active player in world politics. But is this the true story? In any case, I am one of those who, right from the start, argued that Turkey could not join the European Union.

Regardless of how you view the Union and the integration process, you have to admit that both of these concepts have to be based on shared values. Given that Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria are part of the EU, and now that Croatia is about join, it is worth wondering: why should Turkey not be a member of the Union?

Combatting Moscow’s influence

In my view, these countries became members of the EU for reasons that are first and foremost political. In the early 1990s in the wake of the collapse of the USSR and the end of Comecon [the economic organisation of the Soviet Bloc], the view was that it would be necessary to regroup these countries in a structure to prevent them from being reabsorbed by Moscow’s sphere of influence.

The structure best suited to this purpose was the European Union, and this policy was encouraged by the Clinton administration. Croatia, which was close to Germany, played a critical role in the breakup of Yugoslavia. That is the reason why I believe that it really deserves its place in the European Union. On the contrary, there is no political reason to justify Turkish accession to the EU. And even if Turkey is flirting with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, even if it claims that it amounts to a viable alternative, everyone knows it will not be possible. Moreover, some consider the idea to be a political joke.

The reality of its political role is that Turkey acts as a second class subcontractor for the United States in the Middle East. The lack of political awareness in large sections of society, the calibre of Turkey’s politicians, the quality of its media, the capacity and the level of our entrepreneurs and civil servants have unfortunately all helped to confine Turkey to this supporting role.

‘Second-class subcontractor’

We should not delude ourselves with terms like co-president [an allusion to Turkey’s co-presidency of the Greater Middle East Initiative launched by George W. Bush, which was the subject of intense criticism in Turkish nationalist circles], but rather take stock of this sad reality. I use the term “second-class subcontractor” because I cannot find a better one to describe our situation with regard to the largely preferential treatment accorded to Israel.

For as long as large sections of our society have yet to develop a greater awareness of their citizenship, we will continue to be beguiled by empty notions about ourselves, but the situation of our country will not change.

ON THE WEB

Original article at Cumhuriyet tr

OPINION

Really never?

“Turkey will never be part of the EU,” announces the headline of an article recently published in the German tabloid Bild. But “what Bild does not realise is that the word “never” does not feature in the lexicon of the EU,” says Milliyet, which points out that the EU has kept the Turks waiting without saying if their patience will ever be rewarded. For the Istanbul daily,

We have now reached a point where the central question is no longer ‘Will Turkey ever be be a member?’ but rather ‘Does Turkey still want to become a member?’

However, the newspaper continues —

Political decisions in EU member states, which are linked to the economic situation in those countries, will have a decisive impact on Turkish accession. […] The major fear in Ankara is that the trend of ‘letting citizens decide’ will become standard practice in the negotiation process.”

via Turkey: Accession impossible | Presseurop (English).

March 12, 2013
Turkish President Demands Deep Investigation into German House Fire

Warning from Ankara: Turkey Suspicious After German House Fire

DPA

The Turkish government is demanding a detailed investigation into a housefire which killed eight people with Turkish backgrounds in the southern German town of Backnang on Sunday morning. The suspicion shows that trust has not yet returned between Ankara and Berlin.

German officials say that initial investigations show no sign of a xenophobic arson attack. But following a devastating fire early Sunday morning in the southern German town of Backnang — in which eight people with Turkish backgrounds were killed, including seven children — Turkey is demanding that all doubt about the cause of the fire be removed.

“Unfortunately, there have in the past been arson attacks and murders perpetrated against our citizens” Turkish President Abdullah Gül said on Monday, according to reports in the Turkish media. “That’s why we are considering all possibilities.”

Gül isn’t alone in his concern. On Sunday, Ankara’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag struck a similar tone. “It fills us with grief,” he tweeted, in reference to the fire. “From Germany, we expect a clarification for the real cause of the fire which leaves no room for doubt.” In addition, two politicians from Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party traveled to Germany on Sunday to gain a first-hand impression of the investigation.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also released a statement saying Ankara expects a detailed investigation. DITIB, the largest Muslim association in Germany, likewise urged speed and thoroughness. “Unnecessary speculation can only be avoided by way of a rapid, transparent and credible conclusion to the investigation,” the group said in a statement.

Investigators were quick to conclude that the blaze was not likely the result of arson, a swift conclusion DITIB officials found unseemly. The early comments about the possible cause of the fire, the group said, “did not sound credible.”

Initial Suspicion

The fire began in the early morning hours of Sunday in the town just northeast of Stuttgart. According to news reports, by the time fire fighters reached the site — a former leather factory which had been converted into residential apartments — flames were already shooting out of the windows. The seven children who lost their lives were between six months and 16 years old. The eighth victim was their 40-year-old mother, according to German news reports. Three additional children survived the fire and the father was not home at the time of the blaze.

Initial suspicion focused on a wood stove in the apartment though on Monday officials were investigating whether faulty wiring could be to blame after a previous tenant reported having had repeated electrical problems. The investigation will take at least several days and could last weeks, officials said on Monday.

The apartment where the fire began is located above a German-Turkish cultural center. According to media reports, the operator of a nearby bar saved the three children who survived.

The warnings from Ankara highlight the mistrust between Germany and its Turkish minority, particularly following the revelation in late 2011 that a series of murders targeting victims of Turkish background had been committed by a neo-Nazi terror cell. For a decade prior to that case’s resolution, officials had suspected that the victims had belonged to an impenetrable Turkish underworld. The German press had often referred to the killings with the disparaging moniker, the “Döner murders” because some of the victims had owned fast food restaurants selling döner kebabs.

Merkel Deeply Shaken

In addition, Turkish immigrants were the target of several deadly arson attacks in the years immediately following German reunification, particularly in Mölln in 1992 and Solingen in 1993. A total of eight people died in those fires.

German officials appear to be taking the Sunday morning fire very seriously. Governor Winfried Kretschmann of Baden-Württemberg, the state where the fire took place, traveled to Backnang on Sunday together with Turkey’s ambassador to Germany, Hüseyin Avni Karslioglu. The state’s interior minister, Reinhold Gall, likewise visited the site of the fire.

Angela Merkel also voiced her grief on Monday. The chancellor’s deputy spokesman Georg Streiter told reporters that she was deeply shaken by the news and that the Chancellery has offered all assistance necessary to the government of Baden-Württemberg. “The chancellor has no doubt that the officials responsible will not rest until the cause of the fire has been clarified,” Streiter said.

cgh — with wire stories

via Turkish President Demands Deep Investigation into German House Fire – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

March 12, 2013
Turkey, Germany arrest Iranians in nuclear smuggling scheme

Germany and Turkish security officials have caught smugglers suspected of transporting nuclear materials from India to the Iranian city of Arak, overseas media reports.

Ynet News says the security officials conducted a simultaneous raid in Germany and in Istanbul. The raid led to several arrests: A Turkish citizen who was born in Iranian was found with documents that detailed the smuggling and was arrested in Istanbul. And another Iranian suspect was detained and arrested at Ataturk Airport. German police, meanwhile, are holding five Iranian suspects, Ynet says.

Two other suspects are at-large. Ynet reports that Turkish customs officials raided the home of an Iranian couple suspected of involvement in the smuggling operation. But the two weren’t at the house, and police are still seeking their whereabouts, Ynet says.

via Turkey, Germany arrest Iranians in nuclear smuggling scheme – Washington Times.

March 12, 2013