A written statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry reminded that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during the conference in Brussels that the provision of visa liberalization for Turkish citizens will contribute to the acceleration of the relations with the EU.
In the statement, it was mentioned that an important obstacle for Turkey's membership in the EU was the Cyprus issue and that Davutoglu underlined that these two issues were completley different and added that Turkey and the EU had different views about the additional protocol.
The statement noted that the relation between Turkey and the EU was important and pointed out, "It's important to create a new strategic vision for the relation of Turkey and the EU at a point where the relation gets more important than in previous periods."
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/186797--turkey-express-its-dissapointment-about-eu-negotiations 27/5/13 -- - Related:
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Turkish PM Erdoğan accuses EU of ‘smear campaign’....Redirecting his wrath from the interest rate lobby to the EU, PM Erdoğan accuses the 28-member bloc of conducting a ‘smear campaign’ against Turkey...
ReplyDeleteThe European Union and “some other spheres” are conducting a “smear campaign” against Turkey’s government through misinformation, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed yesterday.
In a speech delivered during an Ombudsman Symposium, Erdoğan accused the EU of misleading the public on developments in Turkey, even after he said the country had patiently explained the issue of arrested and convicted journalists. He also added that the use of tear gas during the Gezi protests was "in line with the EU acquis."
“About the issue of arrested and convicted journalists, Europe and world public opinion has been misinformed completely in a systematic way. The same spheres are again informing [the world] in a very misleading way about the issue of freedom of expression in Turkey," Erdoğan said.
"Likewise, the world and European public opinion have been systematically misled on the issues of intervention in societal events and the use of fundamental rights and freedoms," he added.
The prime minister also gave examples of European police interventions to back up these claims. “For example, during a trip, when I was in Germany, some people headed toward us. German police immediately advanced on them, grabbed their wrists, folded their arms, made them lie down and kicked them. We have altogether watched what we saw in the United Kingdom, London. Similarly, we have seen that in France,” he said.
“We do not take these bad examples as examples; but our police have been beaten, most of them have acted tolerantly in their position until the last moment. Tear gas already exists in the EU acquis communitaire,” Erdoğan said.
“But protesters use real bullets against police; what should be said to this? What will the police do against this?” he added, despite no known recent instances of Turkish protesters firing on police. His comment, however, might have been in response to the killing of Gezi protester Ethem Sarısülük, who was shot at point-blank range by officer A.Ş. at the beginning of June in Ankara in what authorities claimed was an act of self-defense.....http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-erdogan-accuses-eu-of-smear-campaign.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53783&NewsCatID=338
4/9/13
Turkey's EU bid should be in Guinness World Records, says EU minister...
ReplyDeleteTurkey's Minister for European Union Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said Friday that Turkey's EU membership process should be placed in the Guinness Book of World Records since no other country has waited as long as Turkey to become a member of the EU.
Speaking at a meeting attended by 39 Danish ambassadors in Istanbul, Bagis said that the obstacles placed in front of Turkey's EU negotiation process has not been placed before any other country.
"Turkey has been waiting for so long to be a member of the EU, and there is no other country which has had such a long negotiation process," he said. "It is time that Turkey's EU membership process is placed in the Guinness Book of World Records."
Noting that Turkey has made great reforms during its EU membership process, Bagis said Turkey would continue to carry out such reforms.
He reminded that Turkey has the 16th largest economy in the world, the 6th largest economy in Europe and continues to have the fastest growing economy in Europe with a 4.4 point growth in the second quarter of 2013.
When asked if Islamophobia would be discussed during the meeting as the Muslim population has been seen as a threat in Denmark since 2011, he replied, "This will be a platform for the two countries to discuss this issue."
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/227641--turkeys-eu-bid-should-be-in-guinness-world-records-says-eu-minister
13/9/13
Turkey may ‘never be EU member’ – Ankara negotiator...
ReplyDeleteTurkey’s bid for European Union membership may fail because of “prejudiced” attitudes from current members, an EU affairs minister said on Saturday. The statement comes as the country’s domestic goals shift away from EU accession.
The statement marks Turkey’s first high-level acknowledgement that its decades-long bid for membership may never be successful.
Instead of becoming a full member of the bloc, Turkey will likely negotiate special access to the EU market just as Norway has done, The Telegraph cited Turkish EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis as saying. The statement was made at the 10th annual Yalta meeting, which is designed to promote European integration with Ukraine.
If Turkey were to join the EU, it would be the first Muslim nation to do so.
Meanwhile, public opinion in support of the EU bid has waned from 73 percent when accession talks began in 2004 to 44 percent in 2013, according to a German Marshall Fund report released this week.
The survey also showed that public wants Turkey to have the freedom to act alone instead of being forced to cooperate with the EU when it comes to international matters. Thirty-eight percent of Turks said their country should act alone, while 21 percent thought Turkey should cooperate with the EU.
Moreover, more than half of all Turks have an unfavorable view of the EU and believe that working with Asia is more fruitful to their national interests, according to the 2012 Transatlantic Trends Survey.
Bagis also hinted that the EU would not be in such financial trouble if Turkey had joined earlier. He added that Turkey would have been an asset due to its obedience to balanced budgets.....http://rt.com/news/turkey-eu-membership-unlikely-191/
22/9/13
Turkey prepares for bittersweet EU report....Police violence during the Gezi protests might have angered the EU, but its latest progress report on Turkey's membership bid is expected to 'focus on the positive'....
ReplyDeleteBy highlighting potential mutual benefits of resolving obstacles to Turkey’s full membership bid, Brussels seems to have aimed at energizing its relationship with Turkey with its annual progress report to be released today [Oct. 16].
“Positive,” was the word particularly and insistently used by a senior EU diplomat while describing the overall tone of the report, which he added would certainly not ignore negative developments such as the government’s response to the Gezi Park unrest.
“One of the right responses to be given to Turkey is not to ‘disengage’ but to ‘engage’ through a perspective based on reforms,” the EU diplomat, who requested anonymity,” told the Hürriyet Daily News on Oct. 15.
“Accordingly, the report will call for an early holding of an intergovernmental conference for discussing the opening of the Chapter 22,” the diplomat said, referring to the Chapter on Regional Policies and Coordination of Structural Instruments.
The opening of negotiations with Turkey on the Chapter 22 is already on the agenda of the Oct. 22 meeting of the General Affairs Council of the EU Council and they are expected to set Nov. 5 as the date of the intergovernmental conference, in line with the call within the report.
“The report will have a crystal clear and totally unambiguous message that holding the intergovernmental conference as soon as possible is in our interest,” the diplomat said, indicating that the report will also indicate mutual benefits of providing Turkey a prospect for opening of the Chapter 23, Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, and Chapter 24, Justice, Freedom and Security.
“What better tool do we have to help Turkey? And otherwise, we would be shooting ourselves in the foot,” the EU diplomat said, in a bid to elaborate on the fundamentals of the EU’s approach to Turkey which will be reflected in today’s report......http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-prepares-for-bittersweet-eu-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56291&NewsCatID=338
16/10/13
EU urteilt über Beitrittskandidaten....Kein makelloses Zeugnis für die Türkei...
ReplyDeleteDer Umgang mit den Protesten rund um den Gezi-Park haben Spuren im Zeugnis für die Türkei hinterlassen. Im Fortschrittsbericht für den EU-Beitritt sind deshalb "ernste Bedenken" vermerkt, so Erweiterungskommissar Füle. In vielen anderen Bereichen habe es aber Fortschritte gegeben.
Einmal im Jahr verteilt die Europäische Union an ihre Beitrittskandidaten eine Art Reifezeugnis. Für die Türkei ist es die erste Beurteilung seit den Protesten rund um den Gezi-Park in Istanbul. Die finden in dem Fortschrittsbericht der EU auch durchaus Erwähnung. Die Proteste im Mai und Juni, die übertriebene Härte der Polizei und das Nicht-Stattfinden eines Dialogs hätten ernste Bedenken ausgelöst, erklärte EU-Erweiterungskommissar Stefan Füle. Und so enthält das Zeugnis, das die EU der Türkei ausstellt, keineswegs durchweg gute Bewertungen.
Letztlich kommt die EU aber doch zu dem Schluss: Die Beitrittsverhandlungen mit dem Land am Bosporus müssten wieder Fahrt aufnehmen. Dies sei schließlich der beste Weg, um Verbesserungen im Sinne der EU voranzutreiben. "Die EU muss ihr Engagement verstärken", ist Füle überzeugt. Und um diesen Schluss zu untermauern, hebt der Bericht durchaus auch positive Entwicklungen hervor: "Es gibt Fortschritte bei den Reformen der Justiz. Und die Regierung hat einen historischen Friedensprozess gestartet, der Terror und Gewalt im Südosten des Landes beenden soll und zu einer Lösung der Kurden-Frage führen soll.".....http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/beitrittverhandlungen-eu100.html
16/10/13
EU hails Turkish reforms, calls for 'truly participatory democracy'...
ReplyDeleteA keenly awaited European Union report unveiled on Wednesday hails reforms carried out by Turkey but also urges the Turkish government to develop a truly participatory democracy, criticizing Turkey for what it called "an uncompromising stance" against dissent and a failure to protect fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and assembly.
The European Commission's 2013 Progress Report on Turkey stresses a number of important steps taken by Turkey over the past 12 months, notably the adoption of a fourth judicial reform package and the start of a process to end terrorism and violence in the Southeast of the country. At the same time, the report emphasizes the pressing need to develop a truly participatory democracy, able to reach out to all segments of society, as well as the clear requirement to further amend criminal legislation and reform its interpretation by the courts so as to ensure respect for fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. These issues underline the importance for the EU to enhance its engagement with Turkey, especially on fundamental rights, so that it remains the benchmark for reforms in the country.
The report hailed Turkey's reform efforts, namely the adoption of an important judiciary reform package, the announcement of a democratization package and the start of talks aiming to end terrorism and violence in the Southeast of the country and to pave the way for a resolution of the Kurdish issue.
The report also lauded the Turkish government for maintaining its overall commitment to further democratization and political reforms but at the same time criticized the “divisive political climate” that prevailed in Turkey, in particular the government's “uncompromising stance” during summer protests.
“Nevertheless, a divisive political climate prevailed; the government notably adopted overall an uncompromising stance during the protest late May and early June, including a polarizing tone towards citizens, civil society organisation and businesses,” the report said.
The report also criticized the government for failing to conduct sufficient consultations with stakeholders on the adoption of key policies and legislation and failed to carry out adequate impact assessments. “Examples included the Law on Metropolitan Municipalities, the draft Law on the Court of Accounts, and legislation restricting the advertisement and sale of alcoholic beverages,” it said......http://www.todayszaman.com/news-329077-eu-hails-turkish-reforms-calls-for-truly-participatory-democracy.html
16/10/13
EU gets further away from Turkey: Turkish EU minister...
ReplyDeleteTurkish Minister for European Union /EU) and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said on Wednesday that no country have ever waited for 54 years for membership to an international organization, referring to Turkey's lasting EU membership process.
Speaking in the EUROCHAMBRES Economic Forum, being held in Istanbul, Bagis said EU was getting further away from Turkey.
Bagis, reminding that Turkey-EU relations were initiated in the framework of the association regime based on the Ankara Agreement which was signed with the European Economic Community on 12 September 1963 and took effect on 1 December 1964, said "No country has ever waited for 54 years for membership to an international organization. We are aware that it is a political process. But nobody tell us Turkey is not ready for EU membership."
"As a part of the European family, Turkey not only had an influence on the political, economic and socio-cultural developments in the continent but has also been influenced by them," the Turkish minister added.
EUROCHAMBRES Economic Forum
The forum has hosted presidents of 43 member associations of Eurochambres, professional business executives, academicians and think tank representatives in Istanbul.
Organised by Eurochambres in cooperation with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchangers of Turkey (TOBB), the forum's main theme is "Investing in Growth".
Other subjects on the agenda include support for new businesses, access to finance, sustainable industry, women's entrepreneurship, green economy, digital services and skills needed in the labor market.
EUROCHAMBRES is the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The association is one of the largest business representative organisation in Brussels, representing over 20 million companies through its network of 2000 Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/240685--eu-gets-further-away-from-turkey-turkish-eu-minister
16/10/13