TURKEY’S PATH TO EUROPE OR LACK THEREOF
New Europe
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Oct 19 2009
Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator, Egeman Bagis, has welcomed
the bloc’s latest progress report on the country. Bagis called the
report "the most objective report so far." Responding to the report’s
singling out of a tax-evasion case against media group Dogan Media
Holding, a vocal critic of the current government, as damaging the
freedom of the press, Bagis said the case was an internal Turkish
matter.
Turkey has impressed the EU by re- opening diplomatic ties with
Armenia, but it must open its ports to ships and aircraft from Cyprus
if it is to have any chance of EU membership, the European Commission
said on October 14. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said he
"expects full and non-discriminatory implementation" of an agreement
opening Turkey’s ports and airports to EU members, including Cyprus.
The EU "would see this as a confidence-building measure" at a time
when the Greek half of Cyprus, which is an EU member, is negotiating
a peace deal with the Turkish north of the island, Rehn said.
Rehn focused on encouraging Ankara to contribute to a settlement.
Meanwhile, Armenia on October 16 backed Turkey’s efforts to join the
European Union. "We have an interest in this so that, via Anakara,
we can also have closer relations with the European Union," Interfax
quoted Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan as saying.
Turkey’s EU membership is a controversial issue. France and Germany,
in particular, oppose it, saying that it should have a "privileged
partnership" instead. However, the future German government is likely
to be neutral about whether Turkey should join the EU, Deutsche
Presse-Agentur (dpa) quoted sources in the coalition parties as
saying on 15 October, after inter-party talks. So far, Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Bavaria-only
Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) have
yet to announce the stance of their planned coalition towards Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress