AUSTRIA WELCOMES TURKEY’S PROGRESS ON ARMENIA AND KURDISH ISSUE

Today’s Zaman
Sept 3 2009
Turkey

We welcome the breakthrough in Armenian-Turkey negotiations and applaud
the Turkish government’s bold initiative in their total democratization
process, a senior Austrian official has said. Speaking in an exclusive
interview with Today’s Zaman on the sidelines of the European Forum
Alpbach — a Davos-type gathering in the ski resort town of Alpbach in
northern Austria — Federal Minister for European and International
Affairs Michael Spindelegger said he was pleasantly surprised with
the news that Turkey and Armenia are set to establish diplomatic ties.

"I really would like to welcome this as huge step forward just to
have diplomatic relations again and to have cooperation," he said,
adding that he hoped it would lead to closer contact on economic,
cultural areas as well.

"From our experience, I can safely say that if you are going to have
diplomatic cooperation, then you will have a natural next step to
bringing arrangements in other fields," he explained.

The top Austrian diplomat also praised the Turkish government’s
effort to bring a total democratization process to fruition and said,
"This is a good way to show the world, especially Europe, that Turkey
is really becoming an EU-oriented country."

He said he was informed by visiting Turkish Minister and chief EU
negotiator Egemen BagıÅ~_ that many steps are planned to give more
rights to Turkish people including minorities. "I welcome this huge
step forward," he stressed.

Anti-Turkish feelings on the rise Commenting on the shrinking public
support in Austria for Turkey’s EU bid, Spindelegger said speeding up
reforms in human rights and democratization may help overcome public
distrust. He partially blamed the nearly bottomed-out support for
Turkey’s candidacy to the lack of reforms in Turkey.

"I think we have to find a common way for the government to make a
lot of reforms in order for Turkey to be accepted to the EU. As you
know, you have to fulfill criteria to guarantee that the rights and
freedoms of the EU are also guaranteed in your country," he said.

A report last year by ESI, a Berlin-based research and policy group
that advocates the EU’s expansion, charges that Austrian politicians
have made little effort to explain their position on Turkey to the
public and that Austrian institutions have produced little serious
research about modern Turkey.

The report revealed that support for Turkish accession had fallen to a
mere 5 percent in Austria in 2006 and showed 73 percent of Austrians
believed that cultural differences between Turkey and the EU were
too significant to allow the country’s accession to the bloc.

The Austrian foreign minister insisted that Ankara could win over
Turkey-skeptics if it delivers on these reforms. "You can convince
people that Turkey is more interested in becoming a European country
which follows democratic principles and human rights as we do in the
EU," he emphasized.

Spindelegger dodged questions on the rise of anti-Turkish sentiment in
far-right parties but said that more regular contact and bilateral
talks between Turkish and Austrian officials will help Turkey’s
image. "If you get in touch more often, then you will be better
informed [of what is going in Turkey]," he said, advocating regular
talks in the future.

He further noted that Turkish politicians ought to encourage the
public in Turkey by emphasizing that the EU is the right way for the
country. The Austrian diplomat conceded, however, that encouragement
from the EU side will boost Ankara’s hand.

Pointing out that business ties between the two countries are on the
rise, Spindelegger said, "Turkey is really a huge market for Austrian
companies." He also disclosed that the government and the Austrian
business community are very much interested in the Black Sea region,
where Turkey claims maritime rights as a littoral country.

Currently the trade volume between the two countries is close to $2
billion, evenly divided between imports and exports.

OMV, the largest energy company in Austria, owns a 42 percent stake
in Turkey’s largest petroleum distribution company, Petrol Ofisi. The
company announced early in the summer that it intends to take over
the remaining shares of Petrol Ofisi.

OMV is also a lead partner in the Nabucco pipeline, which would carry
Caspian Sea gas resources to the European market via Turkey.

Integration a big issue The Austrian minister lamented the lack of
integration on the part of the Turkish minority in Austria and said,
"Having our Turks not integrated puts more distance between Austrian
and Turkish people." It is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000
Turkish immigrants live in Austria; they represent the single largest
majority ethnic group there.

He vowed that the government has a plan in place to better integrate
Turks in Austria but declined to provide any specifics. "We have a
huge challenge. A lot of Turkish people do not like the Austrian way
of life. They would like to keep their own way of life," he said,
stressing the need to mix things up. He praised the help he has been
getting from the Turkish Embassy in Vienna in a drive to integrate
the Turkish community with Austrian society.

Focus on process As for the opposition of Austria to the full
membership of Turkey in the EU, Spindelegger said his government is
focused on the process of negotiations, not on the end result. "At
the end of this process, both sides will have to decide whether to
accept Turkey as a member or not. Also, member states will have a
say on that. But this is a decision that has to be taken at the end
of the process, not now," he said, warning that a lot of things can
happen in the meantime.

The government still maintains their official position supporting
a half measure, a so-called "privileged partnership," which Turkey
opposes. "If you do a lot of reform on the way, you can convince more
and more people that this is the right choice for the EU as well,"
Spindelegger underlined.