Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 9 2009
European Union says it’s on same page with Turkey on foreign policy
According to Pierini, although the Turkish public is skeptical about
joining the EU, Turks are very much in favor of the changes that
membership in the EU will bring.
Turkey’s growing involvement in peace efforts in its region is in line
with what the European Union aspires to achieve and is likely to
improve the EU candidate’s image with the European public, but Ankara
should keep in mind that strides in the foreign policy are no
substitute for reforms.
Marc Pierini, head of the EU Commission Delegation in Ankara, said the
main tenets of the Turkish policy, summarized in Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk’s famous motto `peace at home, peace in the world’ or
the current government’s policy of `zero problems with neighbors’ was
very much in line with what the EU was created to achieve: peace and
democracy in a vast geography.
`Turkey’s role in the world today is very much about peace also ¦
This is exactly what we are about. This is exactly what Turkey is
doing now,’ Pierini told Today’s Zaman in an interview that coincided
with May 9 Europe Day. Hoping to boost its influence in the region,
Turkey has mediated indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel, has
been involved in efforts aimed at peace in troubled areas like Lebanon
and Afghanistan and is trying to mend fences with neighboring Armenia,
with which it has had no formal ties since 1993. `None of these are
easy but it is very much compatible with the EU goals. These are in
the same direction as the EU diplomacy,’ said Pierini.
But the EU envoy warned the proactive foreign policy will not mean a
blank check for membership in the EU. `This is not a substitute for
reforms,’ he said, although he said it would help improve the image of
Turkey with the EU public.
Marc Pierini, head of the EU Commission Delegation in Ankara, said the
main tenets of the Turkish policy, summarized in Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk’s famous motto `Peace at home, peace in the world,’ or
the current government’s policy of `zero problems with neighbors,’ was
very much in line with what the EU was created to achieve: peace and
democracy in a vast geography
Turkey’s role in the Middle East’s politics is expected to further
increase as Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu, formerly the chief foreign policy
advisor for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, has been
appointed the new foreign minister. DavutoÄ?lu is credited with
initiating the dialogue between Turkey and the Middle East but he is
said to have no strong interest in ties with the EU.
Asked about comments that Turkey could place less emphasis on the EU
process under DavutoÄ?lu, Pierini dismissed concerns, saying the
EU bid was a state policy, not the policy of a certain person. `I
don’t fear fluctuations like some commentators have said. I think
state policy will continue. If we have Turkish diplomacy playing an
active role in the Caucasus, in Iran, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in
the Middle East, and in the Balkans, this is fine. All this is
welcomed,’ he said.
Turkey opened accession talks with the EU in 2005, but progress has
been slow since then amid the EU complaints of slowdown in the reform
process, political objections from some of the EU countries, problems
over Cyprus, and the skeptical European public. Pierini said there was
progress in Turkey in meeting the EU criteria for accession, citing
progress in eliminating torture and in women’s rights, and also in the
appointment of Egemen BaÄ?ıÅ? as the chief
negotiator for the EU talks, but warned there was still a long way to
go.
`We expect to see more movement,’ he said. `One member of the Turkish
Parliament once said that Turkey has exhausted all excuses for
postponing reforms. This is not my sentence. This is only what I
heard,’ he said.
Turkish leaders have frequently accused the EU of taking the
membership talks too slowly, criticizing the 27-nation bloc for
opening only two out of 35 negotiating chapters every six months.
Pierini responded by saying that the negotiation process, by its
nature, is very complicated and can be hampered by both technical
factors and political objections from any member country.
The negotiation process `has been difficult for everybody,’ he
said. `It takes a lot of patience, a lot of hard work. ¦ The first
element in the negotiations is the necessary reforms on the Turkish
side. Then we discuss and conduct a kind of shuttle diplomacy between
Turkey, the EU Commission and the council. Then, of course, you have
political work. Any member state can object to a specific chapter. All
that takes an enormous effort from both sides to lobby and this is
what we are doing,’ he said.
He admitted that the negotiations are progressing slowly but tended to
play down political opposition to Turkey’s membership within the EU as
well. `There is no member state which requests to stop the accession
process. But you have 27 democracies negotiating with one
democracy. So in a democracy what you have is voices. People can
oppose or can say this or that. That will continue. What matters is
that negotiation is there and is progressing. Maybe you find it too
slow. I find it too slow too from my perspective, but this is the
working of democracy,’ he said. The EU, which sees Turkey as major
partner for energy security and in curbing Europe’s dependence on
Russia for energy, has put negotiations on the energy chapter on hold
due to objections from Greek Cyprus. `The only thing I can say is that
we have the rule of unanimity, therefore as long as you do not have
all 27 members on board, you can not open talks on a chapter. The
commission is trying its best, together with the presidency, to move
on this chapter,’ said Pierini.
According to Pierini, although the Turkish public is skeptical about
joining the EU one day, Turks are very much in favor of the changes
that membership in the EU will bring. `They know that on the one hand
there is the politics of accession. But they also know that whatever
[direction] the politics of accession takes, the vast majority of
citizens know that what the EU is offering is what they want for
themselves,’ he said.
`Networks operating outside rule of law should be tackled’
Pierini was reluctant to discuss in detail an ongoing investigation
into the shady network, Ergenekon, accused of plotting to overthrow
the democratically elected government, but he said no one should be
allowed to operate beyond the rule of law. `What matters first is rule
of law. If you have networks operating outside rule of law that should
be fixed,’ he said, emphasizing however that this should be done by
also offering a fair judicial process.
On another contentious issue, the issue of press freedom, Pierini said
it was normal for the media to say unpleasant things about state
institutions in a democracy. `It is important that everybody on all
the sides of the political spectrum, all the state institutions,
accept the fact that in a democracy, freedom of expression means that
you can find in the press lots of unpleasant things, because in a
complete democracy, the media is one of the mechanisms of checks and
balances,’ he said.
When asked to comment on a specific incident, where a reporter from
Cihan news agency was not allowed into a military helicopter while
another reporter from a different agency was accepted, Pierini said
the EU would not comment on specific cases, but that the principle of
equal treatment of the media should be upheld. `The principle here is
freedom of expression, which among other things, means equal treatment
of the media institutions,’ he said.
The Cihan news agency reporter who was covering the tragic deaths of
Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Muhsin YazıcıoÄ?lu
and five others in a helicopter crash in the mountains of the
southeastern province of KahramanmaraÅ? in March, was denied the
right to board a military helicopter by the commander who said they
could not carry a civilian after learning that the reporter worked for
the Cihan news agency. The Cihan reporter then pointed out that the
other reporter on the helicopter, a DoÄ?an news agency reporter,
was also a civilian. The commander, however, refused to allow him on
board the helicopter and left him on the mountain. The Cihan reporter
then had to walk down the mountain in a heavy blizzard to the closest
village, a walk of four-and-a-half hours. Cihan news agency is one of
the Turkish media institutions not allowed into the headquarters of
the General Staff or to cover military events.
Asked to comment on the killings of 44 people by gunmen during an
engagement ceremony in the southeastern province of Mardin, Pierini
said it was a tragedy very difficult to understand. `The only thing we
can do officially is refer to the principles. The principles are a
rule of law once again. A fair and equitable inquiry and a fair and
equitable judicial process so that the perpetrators are brought to
justice,’ he said. Asked to comment on visa requirements for Turks
following a recent European Court of Justice ruling which analysts say
opens the way for visa-free entrance to European countries, Pierini
said the issue was very complicated but that the EU Commission was
studying the matter very closely.
`In the issue of visas, what matters is to make sure that these
regulations do not become an obstacle to trade and investment,’ he
said.
09 May 2009, Saturday
SERVET YANATMA ANKARA
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress