Tag: Bagis

Turkey looks to new leadership for Cyprus breakthrough

BY STANISLAVA GAYDAZHIEVA | APRIL 10, 2013 – 5:04PM

Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs, Egemen Bağış, believes that a breakthrough between Greek and Turkish Cypriots can become a reality under the mandate of the newly elected president, Nicos Anastasiades.

“For the first time, we have an elected president on the south of the island who campaigned for a “yes” vote during the Annan plan”, pointed out Bağış at an event organised by the European Policy Centre on Turkey’s struggle with terrorism.

He welcomed Anastasiades’ election and said that it “might give a new window of opportunity to see a solution, a breakthrough, between the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.”

Bağış further said that the Cyprus dispute was not a prerequisite for membership of Cyprus to the European Union (EU) and should, therefore, “not become a prerequisite for membership of Turkey.”

The Turkish minister of EU affairs also stated that Turkey would support and approve any solution the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots agreed on, as long as the solution was based on “political equality” in the island. He said that the authorities in Ankara were willing to open Turkey’s airports, sea ports and airspace to Greek Cypriots, if the Council decision from 2004, calling for direct trade with Northern Cyprus, was implemented.

Bağış said that if Cyprus had accepted the Annan plan, the United States of Cyprus would probably be one of the largest economically growing countries and the most prosperous EU nation at the moment. In his view, the lack of progress on finding a solution to the dispute and current economic situation in Greece were the main reasons that no investments were made in the south of the island and only some investments in the northern part.

Turkey’s chief negotiator expressed hope that Anastasiades will “reach out to his Turkish Cypriot neighbours and pave the way for a solution.”

via Turkey looks to new leadership for Cyprus breakthrough | New Europe.

April 11, 2013
Turkey eyes end of Cyprus dispute amid push for EU entry

VILNIUS: Turkey insisted Thursday the political climate was ripe to end the dispute over the decades-old division of Cyprus, as part of Ankara’s renewed push to join the European Union.

“The (February) election of Mr.(Nicos) Anastasiades as the new president of the new Greek Cypriot administration itself is a great opportunity because he was the leading supporter of the Annan plan back in 2004 which would resolve the Cyprus problem, which would reunite the island,” Turkey’s European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis told AFP in Vilnius.

In 2004, Greek Cypriots voted down a United Nations blueprint named after then secretary-general Kofi Annan which required gradual withdrawal of foreign troops from the island. About 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed in the northern 37 per cent of the island, officially recognised only by Ankara.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at union with Greece. Turkey does not recognise the internationally-recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus, which became an EU member in 2004.

It is now a eurozone member fighting bankruptcy, a crisis which Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday termed an opportunity to work towards a solution, arguing that lifting sanctions on the Turkish-held north and reunification could bring huge economic gains.

“Any solution that is accepted by both the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots will have 100 per cent support and blessing of Turkey as long as it is based on the political equality,” Bagis said during a visit to the Lithuanian capital as the Baltic state gears up to assume the EU’s rotating six-month presidency in July. He said Ankara is bent on relaunching in June EU entry talks started in 2005 but which stalled in 2010 over a slew of issues, notably Cyprus.

Bagis also touted Turkey’s moderate brand of Islam within the framework of a market economy and multi-party democracy as an asset to a Europe with an expanding Muslim population. “Islam is also a European reality,” he said.

via Turkey eyes end of Cyprus dispute amid push for EU entry – The Economic Times.

April 5, 2013
Turkey’s EU bid getting back on track

By Alakbar Raufoglu for Southeast European Times — 14/03/13

Chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis at his office in Ankara. Turkey’s quest for EU membership has picked up steam recently. [AFP]

Turkey’s stalled EU candidacy has picked up steam in recent weeks as senior European leaders called for a fresh push for negotiations, drawing positive responses from Ankara.

Turkey began accession talks with the EU in 2005, but progress has stalled. Only 13 of 35 negotiating chapters have been opened, with one completed successfully. No new ones have been opened since 2010. The chapters are areas of policy that Turkey and the EU need to agree on in order for Turkey to become a member.

French President Francois Hollande said last month he was prepared to open talks on the chapter related to EU support for regions within the bloc. His Socialist Party has been more supportive of Turkey’s membership bid than its predecessor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also backed fresh talks with Turkey to boost its candidacy, stopping short of endorsing full membership.

“In recent times, negotiations stalled somewhat and I am in favor of opening a new chapter in order to move forward,” Merkel stated in advance of her recent trip to Turkey.

Meanwhile, the draft of Chapter 22 on Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments has been unofficially sent to EU authorities, according to Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s minister of EU and chief negotiator.

“We are now waiting for the member countries to evaluate it,” state-run Anatolian news Agency quoted Bagis as saying last week.

Abdulkadir Emin Onen, AKP Sanliurfa deputy and the party’s vice chairman for foreign affairs, said the recent statements by France and Germany were “promising.”

“Obviously, we hope and expect the latest statements to have a positive impact on accession negotiations and that not only one, but all the remaining [blocks on the] chapters to come to an end in the near future,” he told SETimes, adding that Ankara’s target remains “full membership.”

Amanda Paul, a Turkey analyst at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, said a revival in negotiations could strengthen democracy in Turkey.

The deadlock “created a very negative climate” between Ankara and the EU, she said.

“It impacted the reform efforts in Turkey, which slowed and in some cases, [such as] freedom of expression, started to go backwards,” Paul told SETimes.

She added: “Therefore, the decision of the French president to unblock a chapter is to be welcomed, as [is] the positive message of Angela Merkel.”

Kader Sevinc, the CHP’s representative to the EU, told SETimes Brussels “has long been failing to act with strategic vision on Turkey, losing its power of influencing positively Turkey’s democratic reforms and social development.”

As a result, added Sevinc, the Turkish government “has become increasingly authoritarian, exercising pressure on the media, academia, civil society and the judiciary.”

Closer Turkey-EU engagement on democratic standards “would be good news for Turkey’s social democrats and progressive forces represented by the CHP,” Sevinc said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Kuru defended his government’s record on democratisation in a recent speech in Istanbul.

“Naturally, we still have a lot to do to fully meet the democratic aspirations of our people, but there is no doubt that today Turkish democracy serves as a source of inspiration to the wider area surrounding it,” Kuru said, according to media reports.

Analysts were quick to temper the optimism created by the recent movement on Turkey’s EU bid. Challenges remain, they said, citing the unresolved status of Cyprus, European opposition to Turkish membership on non-political grounds, and fading public support for the process in Turkey.

For Paul, what happens next will help clarify whether the EU is serious about “a new beginning with Turkey” or not.

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“If this is a case of the EU simply trying to put new wine in an old bottle, then this reset may not last long,” Paul told SETimes.

She added that Brussels “needs to develop a genuine long term strategy towards Turkey, not come up with short term solutions for a long term problem which further risks damaging a relationship of significance importance to the EU.”

Swedish Ambassador to Turkey Hakan Akesson said last week that democracy, human rights and superiority of law are “common values of the member countries of the EU and should not be correlated to religion.”

Turkey, he stated in an interview with the Turkish press, “is very close to becoming a member of the EU as it is both financially and economically important for the EU.”

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.

via Turkey’s EU bid getting back on track (SETimes.com).

March 15, 2013
Frustrated Turkey still wants EU entry, but maybe not euro

By Mohammed Abbas

LONDON | Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:14pm EST

(Reuters) – Turkey is committed to joining the European Union despite mounting frustration over decades of talks on the issue, but has little appetite for adopting the euro currency, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday.

In a speech in London, Turkey’s chief negotiator on EU accession said it was time the EU made up its mind on whether Turkey can join the 27-member bloc, and said it should be allowed in even if some countries object.

Talks on Turkish integration into Europe originally began in 1963, but the intractable dispute over the divided island of Cyprus – an EU member that Turkey does not recognize – have blocked talks on several policy issues candidate states must conclude before entry.

“We want to be in the EU, but the EU has to make a decision. The decision to start the negotiation process with Turkey was a unanimous decision, and only a unanimous decision can put an end to this process,” Egemen Bagis, EU affairs minister and senior member of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, said.

“If there’s one principle of the EU I would like to criticize it’s the unanimity principle … One single member country, the Greek Cypriots, can block the opening of the energy chapter,” he said, accusing Cyprus of holding the EU “hostage”.

The island was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Turkish Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan has said the delay was “unforgivable”, warning that the EU would lose Turkey, a mostly Muslim and largely conservative country, if it was not granted membership by 2023.

Enthusiasm among the Turkish public for EU membership is waning given the bloc’s economic woes, particularly the sovereign debt crisis hitting some members of the currency union, but Bagis was confident any referendum would pass.

“If there was a vote today I could easily get a yes vote … on membership of the EU, but I’m not so sure about joining the euro zone,” Bagis said.

GROWING INFLUENCE

That could pose problems for accession given that joining the euro zone single currency bloc is a condition for entry.

However, Bagis said economic circumstances and opposition to the euro and could change by the time accession is agreed.

Formal talks to join the EU have stalled since they were launched in 2005, and Turkey has completed only one of the 35 chapters need for entry.

On Tuesday, France said it was ready to unblock membership talks on one of the chapters, in contrast to its position under former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said Turkey did not form part of Europe.

Bagis said France’s change of heart was “better late than never”, and lambasted “narrow minded” politicians who have objected to accession, citing discrimination and Islamophobia.

Some EU countries express concern about Turkey’s handling of human rights, freedom of expression and treatment of minorities. Turkey says it is addressing those concerns, and on Wednesday drafted changes to its penal code [ID:nL5N0BD3D9].

Bagis dismissed concerns about mass Turkish emigration to other EU countries after accession, saying that Turkey’s growing economic clout meant that it instead was at risk from immigration from other EU states.

“Of course, every nation has their pride. So does mine. And no country has been kept in the waiting room for 54 years. Sometimes our reactions might seem emotional, but believe me if anyone else was in our shoes …,” he said, referring to when Turkey applied for association with the then European Economic Community.

Turkey, a long-time NATO member, has seen its diplomatic influence rise alongside its economic prosperity. The Islamist-rooted AK Party says Turkey has jumped to 16th largest economy in the world from 26th since it came to power in 2002.

Turkey’s stock is particularly high in the Middle East, where it is seen as a model for a prosperous Islamic democracy, and has won admiration for its tough stance on Israel.

Bagis touted Turkey’s sway in the Middle East as a major boon for Europe should it be allowed to join the EU.

“The EU is the grandest peace project in the history of mankind … Turkey, being the most eastern part of the West, and the most Western part of the East, can turn this continental project into a global peace project,” he said.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

via Frustrated Turkey still wants EU entry, but maybe not euro | Reuters.

February 15, 2013
‘Turkey can contribute to EU’s foreign and security policies’

Bagıs gave a lecture titled “The Future of Turkey-EU relations”.

Turkey’s EU Minister Egemen Bagıs said that if the political blockade before Turkey in the EU negotiation process is lifted, it can open, in the technical sense, 10 chapters in 12 months and 15 chapters in 18 months for negotiations.

Bagıs gave a lecture titled “The Future of Turkey-EU relations” at Stockholm University during his visit to Sweden.

Touching on deep-rooted relations between Turkey and Sweden in his speech, Bağış said that today the two countries have good relations.

Bagıs said that he is pleased with Sweden’s support for Turkey’s EU membership.

Stating that the EU is going through one of the worst crises in history, Bagıs said that this crisis is not only economic but also political, quoting some experts as saying that this crisis stems from Europeans not having confidence in the “European integration project.”

“New members, who have high performance, will contribute to EU having a more important place in the global system. Turkey will significantly contribute to Europe’s future” he said.

Bagıs pointed out that Turkey is an important regional and international player with its gradually increasing power and sound economy, underlining that the Turkish economy is Europe’s fastest growing economy.

“Turkey can share costs for the Euro zone crisis to be solved” he said.

Bagıs said that Turkey can also contribute to EU’s foreign and security policies.

“Turkey represents a new center of gravity stretching from the Balkans to North Africa. Its historic ties and experiences in the recent past with the Balkans, Caucasus and Middle East, can contribute to Turkey’s shaping EU’s policies on these significant and sensitive regions” he added.

Reminding that Turkey has recently released its own progress report, Bağış said that this report indicates Turkey’s determination.

TRT

via News.Az – ‘Turkey can contribute to EU’s foreign and security policies’.

January 19, 2013
EU seeks fresh start with Turkey on membership bid

The EU’s Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fuele, is visiting Turkey in an attempt to give new impetus to Ankara’s stalled bid to join the bloc.

Turkey's chief negotiator Egemen Bagis: "Europe cannot be without Turkey"

Turkey opened accession talks with the EU in 2005, but they have been stalled for two years because some EU leaders oppose its membership and Turkey refuses to recognise Cyprus.

Both sides launched a new “positive agenda” in Ankara on Thursday.

The 27-nation EU is by far the largest consumer of Turkish exports.

“Our aim is to keep the accession process alive and put it properly back on track, after a period of stagnation which has been a source of frustration on both sides,” Mr Fuele said in Ankara.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head in Istanbul says the high hopes and euphoria that accompanied the start of Turkey’s EU accession talks seven years ago have collapsed into a mess of mutual recriminations.

It has been two years since Turkey opened any new negotiating chapters out of the 35 it needs to complete before it can join the EU. Only one chapter has been finished, and more than half are blocked.

With Cyprus about to take up the rotating presidency of the EU, relations will be even more strained, our correspondent says.

Turkey does not allow ships or planes from Cyprus to use its ports and airports. The division of Cyprus remains a major sticking point, with the Turkish-controlled north of the island recognised only by Ankara.

Flourishing trade

But in many areas the EU and Turkey already co-operate closely, such as foreign policy and energy. Businesses have thrived on the EU-Turkey customs union.

Despite frustration at the slow progress most Turkish politicians still insist EU membership is a goal worth pursuing, even if they have to wait many years to get there, Jonathan Head reports.

Eight joint working groups will be set up to address specific chapters of Turkey’s negotiations.

In a speech on Tuesday Mr Fuele highlighted the importance of Turkey’s constitutional reform.

“A new civilian constitution can act as a catalyst and provide a basis for further progress as regards the respect for fundamental rights and freedoms in Turkey,” he said.

He also called for the customs union to be modernised and expanded.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was a prominent opponent of Turkey joining the EU. His successor Francois Hollande may be less hostile to Ankara’s bid.

This week Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that “with the coming to power of Mr Francois Hollande, we are all hoping that a new course in the Turkish-EU relations will gain momentum”.

According to the news website euobserver.com, the EU’s biggest embassy is in Ankara, with 137 staff. Next in terms of staff come the EU delegations to China (116) and Russia (102).

Turkey’s European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis says “the new Europe cannot be without Turkey”.

“Until now, all countries that have started negotiations with the EU have become full members. Turkey will not be the first exception.”

via BBC News – EU seeks fresh start with Turkey on membership bid.

May 18, 2012