ITALIAN MINISTER REITERATES SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID
Report by Alessandra Coppola

Corriere della Sera
12 Sep 07
Milan, Italy

"Minister Bonino in Istanbul and Ankara: ‘Turkey Wants Europe, and
We Support It’"

Ankara – Turkey is moving "with determination" down the path leading to
Europe, and it has Italy’s support as it does so. [Italian Community
Affairs] Minister Emma Bonino visited Istanbul last weekend, and she
was in Ankara yesterday. Her aim is to seek confirmation that [Turkish
Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s moderate Islamic government
is still moving in that direction, following the vote in July. Well,
her search has proved fruitful.

The minister reported that she has been talking with a leadership that
is "not arrogant," that has naturally been "strengthened" by the vote,"
but that is "determined to continue down the path of economic and civic
modernization": "Turkey confirms its European calling, but also its
practical work leading towards the European Union; and this, despite
some non-positive signals, particularly from France ([French President
Nicolas] Sarkozy is openly opposed to the country joining the EU –
Corriere della Sera editor’s note)." The independent commission on
Turkey (a group of European personalities chaired by former Finnish
President Martti Ahtisaari), of which Bonino is a member, may well
now draft a new report "to contribute to the continued pursuit of
membership negotiations."

Could Turkey join Europe also as a response to 11 September, as
[Italian] Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema suggested yesterday [see
referent item]? "I am convinced of that," Bonino replied, adding:
"The process that Ankara has undertaken is useful as a sign of
openness towards the EU: stringent openness, respectful of Community
criteria, but without any prejudice. The message is that Europe is
not a fortress; it is not a religious project but a political one."

In the meantime, Turkey is pressing on. "A plan to take the Community’s
directives on board is ready," the Italian minister explained. Nor did
she fight shy of addressing the issue of minorities’ rights, which is
still a sore point for Ankara, with the Kurds discriminated against,
and with the Armenian genocide being de facto denied by Article 301 in
the criminal code which punishes "insults to Turkish identity. She was
assured that progress has been made in the new draft constitution,
which will be ready in a matter of days from now, and which the
government is committed to submitting to examination by Parliament
and to a referendum in the spring.

Bonino considers that there have been "positive signals" also from
newly elected Islamic President Abdullah Gul, whose election was
frowned upon by the military and disputed by the nonconfessionals:
"The decision to receive Noble prizewinner [author] Orhan Pamuk
(threatened by nationalist extremists for daring to talk about the
Armenians – Corriere della Sera editor’s note) and (yesterday’s) trip
to the (Kurdish) southeast, with the intention of meeting also with
a women’s association that is fighting against ‘crimes of honour,’
seem to me to be very important moves," Bonino said.

Finally, she turned to the economy: Minister Bonino, who holds also
the foreign trade portfolio, has met with Italian businessmen in
the course of her trip, noting an "improvement in trade" (plus 75.5
per cent in 10 years); she was assured of [Turkey’s] amenability to
recognize Italy’s specific areas of expertise when the construction
sites get under way for the restoration of Istanbul, which has been
designated [European] Cultural Capital in 2010. Also, she discussed
a plan for an Italian-Turkish University for Engineering and Design,
and she confirmed the diplomatic agenda involving: a visit by D’Alema,
followed by a trip to Italy for Erdogan on 7 and 8 November, and then
a forum for dialogue at the end of the month.

While she was holding her talks, the police identified and defused a
minibus stuffed full of explosives in downtown Ankara. Bonino offered
a positive interpretation even of that episode: "It shows that there
is an increased intelligence capability," she said.