Turkey Shows Interest in Reviving EU Bid

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Turkey is showing renewed interest in reviving its stalled bid to join the European Union, now that Nicolas Sarkozy, one of its key opponents, is no longer in charge of France is no longer the president of France.

Turkey began its EU accession negotiations in 2005 but made little progress in its candidacy, thanks to a dispute with EU-member Cyprus and opposition from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Turkey's membership. Sarkozy argued that the predominantly Muslim country is not a part of Europe and wanted Turkey to accept some kind of a special partnership with the EU instead of full membership – an offer Turkey rejected.

Now that Socialist Francois Hollande has replaced Mr Sarkozy as France's president, Turkey hopes he will be more sympathetic to the candidacy of a country that has one of the world's fastest growing economies and is becoming a regional diplomatic player.

"With the coming to power of Mr Francois Hollande, we are all hoping that a new course in the Turkish-EU relations will gain momentum," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said this week, during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Little is known about Mr Hollande's stand regarding Turkey's EU membership, apart from a comment he made on France-2 television on April 12 during his campaign for the presidency. During it, he said France has long accepted the principle of Turkish accession to the EU but that major conditions have not been met and that may not happen for several years to come.

On Thursday, Turkey and the EU are to open talks aimed at bringing Turkey's membership bid back on track, and the Turkish government announced this week that its Parliament will soon vote on a series of draft laws designed to help advance its bid. » | Source: AP | Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The New Old Turkey
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – LETTERS: Regarding the Nov. 10 news article "EU gauges member readiness," it is regrettable that the current Turkish government refuses to recognize its continued shortcomings in the areas of freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared quick to respond in terms of Turkey's patience and how long it might last, but he seems oblivious to the suffering of millions in a country where there is virtually no freedom of speech unless one supports the ruling AKP party's ultimate aim: an all-out Islamic state.

Would Mr. Davutoglu be so quick to respond to questions on whether there are any independent media at all in Turkey capable of reporting freely and without recrimination? Let us not forget that, during the recent debates about changes to Turkey's constitution, the opposition were denied equal and unbiased media access.

I sincerely hope the EU delegation has taken note of this, as well as of the restrictive religious practices currently imposed on Turkey's non-Muslim population. >>> Tayfun Balkan | Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Turkey Says Joining EU Is Still Top Priority
THE TELEGRAPH: Turkey has moved to calm fears that it is drifting away from the West, asserting that joining the European Union is still its "first and most strategic objective".

Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, said in London on Thursday prior to a meeting with William Hague, his UK counterpart, that Turkey was continuing to work very hard on its integration into Europe. He acknowledged that Turkey's accession to the EU had been made harder by opposition from Germany and from France in particular, and by problems over the future of Cyprus, where the dispute with Greece is still very much alive in spite of optimism of a resolution in recent years.

Mr Davutoglu was critical of Western fears that Turkey was turning further to the East, partly as a result of being rebuffed by France and Germany.

The question "Are we losing Turkey?" he said, was an "insulting question". He said Turkey was seeking to bring Western "soft" powers of peace, mediation and multilateralism to its multiple talks with countries in its region. >>> Adrian Michaels in London | Thursday, July 08, 2010

British Conservatives Assail Hague Over Turkey’s EU Membership Remarks
TODAY’S ZAMAN: British Conservative Party members have stridently displayed their objections to Foreign Secretary William Hague’s remarks on Thursday that envisaged “the value of [the] future membership” of “Europe’s biggest emerging economy” -- Turkey.

Roger Helmer, member of European Parliament from the British Conservative Party, deplored Hague’s statement, saying, “British voters will not stand for Turkish membership -- nor will other EU states,” the UK’s Mirror daily reported on Sunday.

“We should also see the value of Turkey’s future membership in the EU in this light. Turkey is Europe’s biggest emerging economy and a good example of a country developing a new role and new links for itself, partly on top of and partly outside of existing structures and alliances, and is highly active in the Western Balkans, the wider Middle East and Central Asia,” Hague said while speaking at London’s Foreign Office on Thursday, which drew the ire of many Euro-skeptic Tories.

Hague said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit Britain next week as London seeks to improve its ties with Ankara. >>> Today’s Zaman, Istanbul | Monday, July 05, 2010

William Hague is clearly a naïve fool, and quite obviously he has a death wish for the West by wanting to Islamize Europe. Go ruin someone else’s civilisation, Mr Hague. The French and Germans have it right: There should be no place for Turkey in the EU.

It’s funny how the British are determined not to take their full part in the European Union, yet when it comes to screwing it up, they're in the first row. How reprehensible that propensity is! – © Mark

Turkish EU Minister on the Armenian Genocide Controversy: 'We Are Very Sensitive About This Issue'
Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s Minister for European Affairs. Photo: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In a SPIEGEL interview, Ankara's Minister for European Affairs Egemen Bagis discusses Turkey's journey to the West and his country's dispute with the United States over a resolution on the genocide of the Armenians recently passed by Congress.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Bagis, why does Turkey still need a minister for European Union affairs? Isn't Europe a dead issue in your country?

Bagis: Absolutely not. My government is investing more energy in the reform process than any other government. In 2013 we will be ready for accession.

SPIEGEL: But do Turks share your enthusiam? Three out of four Turks believe that the EU wants to divide your country and spread Christianity.

Bagis: I have other figures: If Turkey held a referendum today on accession, 60 percent would vote for it. On the other hand, only 40 percent of Turks believe that accession will definitely take place. In Europe it is the other way round: Forty percent want to take Turkey in, but 60 percent believe the country will join the EU one day.

SPIEGEL: In other words: There is skepticism on both sides.

Bagis: Let's put it this way: Some countries like Malta apply for membership and are in the next day. Others need a little more time. I have no problem with the fact that some Europeans say they want negotiations with an open-ended outcome. Today everything has an open-ended outcome, even Catholic marriages. >>> | Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Interview conducted by Bernhard Zand and Daniel Steinvorth

Geert Wilders Warns Bush
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL: BRUSSELS -- As President George W. Bush wraps up his trip to the Middle East, controversial Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, a passionate supporter of Bush and the U.S. war on terrorism, called on him to drop his "double agenda" in the region by ending support to Islamic states like Saudi Arabia.

Wilders, who briefly achieved global notoriety when he released his anti-Koran film "Fitna" in March, told United Press International that the United States should not overlook Saudi Arabia's flagrant bad governance and human-rights abuses.

"American relations with Saudi Arabia should be revised," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia's status as a major oil producer should not mean that its track record ought to be overlooked. "Saudi Arabia is no good and won't be for the foreseeable future," he said.

"I think supporting Saudi Arabia is a bad policy and shows a double agenda," said Wilders. But he demurred at the suggestion of sanctions or military action -- "it's not like they should invade tomorrow" -- suggesting only that the desert kingdom be subject to the same standards as other U.S. allies like Israel.

The parliamentarian recently returned from a trip to the United States and said he was surprised to find his anti-Islam agenda had so much resonance there.

Wilders heads a small anti-immigration party in the Dutch Parliament and lives under 24-hour police protection because of death threats resulting from his public comments about Islam and the Koran, which he has compared to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and says should be banned in the Netherlands.

Echoing the comments of some U.S. neoconservatives, Wilders has said he regards the spread of radical Islam as the next great challenge to the West, after fascism and communism.

"I think Islamization presents a threat to the public safety of the entire West, including the United States," he told UPI. "Direct and indirect dangers are present in (Muslim) politics and culture."

He said the shared enemy demanded closer trans-Atlantic ties. Dutch Critic of Islam Warns Bush >>> By Leander Schaerlaeckens | May 19, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Turkey’s Leaders Plan Muslim Europe
THE FIRST POST: For the AKP, democracy is merely a means to a higher Islamic goal, says edward luttwak

If you thought Turkey was no threat to the West, think again. A new generation of politicians is aiming to Islamise the state by stealth. The AKP - Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, or Justice and Development Party - has a stranglehold on Turkey for the foreseeable future.

The AKP was founded to replace a previous Islamic party banned for extremism. It benefited hugely from the corruption scandals that dragged down the previous government, taking two-thirds of parliament in the 2002 general election (on a third of the vote).
On Friday, its ex-foreign secretary Abdullah Gul narrowly failed to win a victory in the first round of presidential elections. The result was close enough to prompt public demonstrations by secularists ahead of the second round voting on May 2, and a statement from the military - long the guardians of Turkey's secular traditions - warning against a pro-Islam political agenda.

Since coming to power, the AKP has done nothing revolutionary, but it does have a revolutionary agenda. For all their suavity, its leaders seek to transform the country into a Sunni Muslim republic. This collides with institutions and laws strictly limiting Islam's role in public life, and with a long-standing security alliance with Israel.

It also collides with democracy itself, for no Koranic state can have a sovereign parliament free to legalise such abominations as equal rights for women and homosexuals or the drinking of alcohol.

A sinister slogan attributed to the AKP is that democracy is 'a bus we can ride until we reach our station'. Under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his foreign secretary Abdullah Gul, the party has been cautious until now.

But abroad the AKP has been more strident. Turkey has stepped up relations with Muslim countries and cooled them with Israel. They have capitalised on public suspicion of the Western war on terror and yet have pursued Turkey's application to join the EU. Opinion: Turkey’s leaders plan Muslim Europe >>> By Edward Luttwak

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Euro Bosses to Bet on Turkey
TURKISH DAILY NEWS: 'Turkey is already a member of the EU for us,' Volvo Group's CEO says. This world-leading company is making positive noises about Turkey's future as it considers Turkey a regional hub to ease its distribution to the Middle East, Caucasus and the Balkans, and talks of plans for introducing more 'environment friendly' vehicles in the country

The world's leading car, truck and construction equipment manufacturing giant, the Volvo Group, has chosen Turkey as its regional hub for future investments.

“We consider Turkey as a center to distribute our products to the Middle East and the Caucasus. As a first step we have decided to establish an assembly factory for Renault Trucks,” Leif Johansson, president and the CEO of the Volvo Group, told the Turkish Daily News, in an exclusive interview here Friday.

Renault Trucks, a member of the Volvo Group since 1992, which produces light and heavy commercial vehicles, plans to sell more than 100,000 vehicles by 2010. The trucks that are manufactured in factories in France and Spain are assembled in 11 different countries. Turkey will be the 12th, according to Johansson.

“For us Turkey is already a member of the European Union. Not only important due to its geographic location in its region, Turkey is also a good market for us in itself,” he said. Euro bosses to bet on Turkey >>> By SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Unadulterated Tosh and Drivel from the Telegraph!
THE TELEGRAPH: Following this week's Turkish general election, David Miliband spoke of "reaching out" to the victor, the moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The Foreign Secretary's choice of verb is a measure of Europe's estrangement from a country which joined Nato in 1952, became an associate member of the European Community in 1963 and has been negotiating for full EU membership since 2005.

"Reaching out" suggests extending the hand of friendship to a pariah. In fact, Turkey has just conducted a democratic exercise which has trumped a none-too-subtle threat of intervention from the military.

That should be lauded by the EU. Yet Mr Miliband's exhortation reflects the fact that Britain is almost alone in pressing Turkey's case for membership. Elsewhere, attitudes vary from tepid, as in the Netherlands, to frigid, as in France.

Europe's failure to appreciate Turkey's strategic importance is depressingly familiar. It was demonstrated ten years ago by Jacques Poos, then foreign minister of Luxembourg, and is evident today in the hostility of Nicolas Sarkozy, the new French president. Democratic Muslim nation in EU? Yes! (more) By Simon Scott Plummer

Mark Alexander

Charlie Rose Interviews Nicolas Sarkozy: Sarkozy Says No to Turkey in Europe. Thank God for Sarkozy!


Mark Alexander

Une grande déception: Le Vatican est favorable à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Union européenne!
LE FIGARO: Le secrétaire d'État du Pape a confirmé le virage à 180 degrés engagé par Benoît XVI lors de sa visite à Istanbul, l'an dernier.

LE VATICAN est favorable à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Union européenne. Mardi soir, en marge d'une conférence organisée à l'université romaine des légionnaires du Christ, le cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secrétaire d'État du Saint-Siège, a dit oui à cet élargissement. Il a ainsi confirmé le nouveau cap du Saint-Siège qui se dessinait depuis le voyage effectué par Benoît XVI en Turquie, en no-vembre 2006. Le Vatican dit oui à la Turquie dans l'Europe (encore) de Hervé Yannou

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Sarkozy Will Not Block Accession Talks with Ankara

BBC:
Pope reinstates Islam department

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
Pope Benedict XVI upgrades Vatican’s relations with Islam

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy Plumps for “Privileged Partnership” for Turkey
Say ‘NO’ to Turkey in Europe! If you value your FREEDOMS, keep Islam OUT! Don't let the British government, the Foreign Office, or any other government or organization sell your Judeo-Christian heritage down the river! A "privileged partnership" for Turkey, at most.

BBC: New French President Nicolas Sarkozy has moved to prevent friction over Turkey's EU membership bid in the run-up to next month's EU summit.

A French presidential official quoted by Reuters said Mr Sarkozy - who opposes the bid - would not block further EU-Turkey accession talks.

Mr Sarkozy's top diplomatic adviser held talks in Turkey at the weekend. Sarkozy ‘won’t stop Turkey talks’ (more)

Mark Alexander