GUL TO REHN: DO NOT IMPOSE NEW CONDITIONS
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 5 2006
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn to adopt a more constructive and encouraging
position, and not to impose new conditions.
Olli Rehn met separately with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Rehn urged Turkey to fulfill
its obligations under the additional protocol, and open both sea
and air ports to Greek Cypriots. Rehn also sought support for the
Finnish Cyprus proposal. Noting that Turkey is ready to make a
constructive contribution, Gul further said that Turkey expects the
same attitude from the respective parties. Gul added that Turkey
would take positive steps if the isolation is lifted. According to
the reports, Gul "diplomatically" expressed Turkey’s complaints about
the recent demands of the EU. Noting that Turkey’s EU membership is
not a matter of urgency, Gul called on the EU authorities to consider
the long membership venture before setting new obstacles. Recalling
that Turkey is trying to complete its transformation, the foreign
minister, in reference to the progress report, said: "We constantly
receive political messages. Like France… Please note the membership
requirements once more. Assess our performance. Remove the political
considerations from the criteria. We are already trying to make
progress. Just remove the political ambiguity." Rehn, who carefully
listened to Gul, reminded him that a period of a few months remains
to prevent a possible "train crash."
When asked about his opinions concerning the contradiction between the
French draft that would penalize the denial of the alleged Armenian
genocide and the criticisms over the Turkish penal code’s controversial
article 301, Gul said the question should be addressed to Olli Rehn.
Polemics over "cucumber size" and freedom of expression
Recalling that Turkey was criticized for its slow progress, Chairman
of the Turkish Assembly’s EU Adaptation Commission Yasar Yakis said
the issue of freedom of expression was brought to the table at a
time when Turkey was negotiating "cucumber size" with the relevant
EU authorities. In response to Yakis, Rehn noted that cucumber size
was none of his business, and the only thing he was interested in
was freedom of expression.
Recalling the previous EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheguen’s
remarks that had referred to the outstanding progress Turkey had made,
Yakis asked the EU to be consistent. Citing Verheguen as famous for
his exaggerations, Rehn asserted that Turkey’s progress is greatly
exaggerated. At the meetings with Turkish parliamentarians, Olli Rehn
stressed the importance of freedom of expression, and the abolition
of the controversial article 301 of Turkish penal code.
Rehn, who also underlined that freedom of expression is the foundation
of the EU, used language that bothered the deputies.
Yakis, in response to Rehn who called for the resumption of religious
training at the Heybeliada Cleric School, said that in that case,
the other religious communities would seek to open their own schools.
Rehn also expressed his appreciation of the difficulties faced by
introducing further reforms in light of the country’s sensitivities
regarding reactionary and separatist threats.
Rehn opposed to privileged partnership
Rehn criticized those who proposed a "privileged partnership" for
Turkey instead of full membership in the EU. Speaking at Bilkent
University, Rehn asserted that this would erode the reliability of the
EU, discourage Turkey from making further progress and cause severe
reactions, and further stated that the EU should remain loyal to its
commitments with Turkey.