January 17, 2007
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday criticized French Interior Minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy for opposing Turkey's bid for full EU membership. Already a member of the executive committee and head of the Social Affairs Committee of...
Posted by erkan at
05:55 PM
|
TrackBack
January 13, 2007
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul vowed [right] on Wednesday that 2007 will not be a "lost year" for Turkey's European Union membership process, despite upcoming elections and an EU decision to partially freeze accession talks due to the Cyprus...
Posted by erkan at
04:50 AM
|
TrackBack
January 10, 2007
Gideon Rachman in After 15 astounding years, the Union enters its surreal phase says: ........The whole incident is symptomatic of the EU's broader problem with reality. For the truth is that the EU is poised to spend the next five...
Posted by erkan at
01:50 AM
|
TrackBack
January 08, 2007
THE CYPRUS GOVERNMENT has issued a veiled threat to Bulgarian Turks who live in the north, following questions over whether they would be allowed to cross to the south after entering the island illegally. The issue was raised earlier in...
January 06, 2007
Andrew Bounds says: Chilly northern Europe could reap big benefits from global warming, while the Mediterranean faces crippling shortages of both water and tourists by the middle of the century, according to the first comprehensive study of its effects on...
Posted by erkan at
12:29 PM
|
TrackBack
Bertrand Benoit and Quentin Peel in FT say: ....Mending the frayed relationship between Europe and the US will be a priority of her EU presidency. Perhaps surprisingly for a leader who has been criticised for her lack of vision and...
Posted by erkan at
01:00 AM
|
TrackBack
January 01, 2007
Romania and Bulgaria were getting ready to celebrate their entry into the European Union at midnight with rock music and traditional dancing. And as EU Observer notes, Fireworks, VIP guests, street parties and live music are taking over Bucharest and...
Posted by erkan at
04:30 PM
|
TrackBack
December 31, 2006
Turkey has received proposal from Armenian government, being out of important projects realized in the region, on establishing of diplomatic relations and opening of frontiers. Letter of Defense Minister of Armenia, Serge Sarkisyan, published in “The Wall Street Journal” reads:...
Posted by erkan at
12:59 AM
|
TrackBack
December 28, 2006
Turkey’s bid to join the European Union is on the verge of failure. If the EU says no, will Turks turn away from Europe? What does Turkey think about Iran and the bomb? Will Turkey seek its own nuclear weapon?...
Posted by erkan at
02:30 AM
|
TrackBack
December 26, 2006
Hürriyet claims that EU countries in support of Turkey's EU membership bid have started a movement for the immediate re-opening of the eight accession talks topics shelved following Ankara's initial refusal to budge on opening up either air or sea...
Posted by erkan at
03:37 PM
|
TrackBack
December 25, 2006
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan stated that in the case of the Maastricht and Copenhagen Criteria standing in Turkey’s way, the Istanbul Criteria would step in and the country would continue on its way..... Erdogan and Merkel- this photo is included...
Posted by erkan at
08:00 AM
|
TrackBack
December 24, 2006
Mehmet Ozcan says in EU is not Ready to Conduct Negotiations with Turkey!: At the last meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) dated 20 December, there became a consensus on the subject that one chapter will be opened...
Posted by erkan at
10:19 PM
|
TrackBack
December 21, 2006
Cafe Babel has it: What is in store for new year's Europe? We look at the upcoming leaders, movers and shakers who will transform the face of the EU in 2007 The official launch of a common energy policy in...
Posted by erkan at
06:30 PM
|
TrackBack
The forthcoming presidency will focus on further developing the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and come up with an initiative for Central Asia. In the mean time Social NGOs put upcoming presidency to the test. Social NGOs from all over...
Posted by erkan at
03:29 PM
|
TrackBack
December 20, 2006
According to AP, Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday insisted that Turkey remains fully committed to the European Union membership process, but accused the EU of acting against the spirit of ties with his country by partially freezing membership talks last...
Posted by erkan at
05:05 AM
|
TrackBack
The idea of a single set of "European values" was thrown into doubt on Monday as a fresh Eurobarometer poll exposed strongly varying attitudes towards delicate issues such as religion, homosexuality and drug use across the EU............. Meanwhile, European bishops...
Posted by erkan at
03:59 AM
|
TrackBack
December 19, 2006
Vladimir Dlouhy, an international adviser to Goldman Sachs and ABB, teaches at Charles University in Prague, and was a member of Czechoslovak and Czech governments (1989-97), outlines priorities for a new Europe in IHT. "Ségo'has turned out to be the...
Posted by erkan at
09:23 AM
|
TrackBack
December 15, 2006
European Union leaders meeting in Brussels are due to signal that new countries wanting to join the bloc will face a tougher examination than ever. Tougher entry rules stall EU enlargement which means Turkey faces difficult journey to become...
Posted by erkan at
07:12 PM
|
TrackBack
December 14, 2006
The heads of the 25 European Union states are expected to make it harder for new members to join, when they meet for their annual summit in Brussels. Via George Parker and Daniel Dombey in EU leaders to start closing...
Posted by erkan at
11:55 AM
|
TrackBack
BBC starts another Should Turkey join the EU? while BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell meets the isolated Turkish Cypriot community and asks what it feels like in the spotlight, as relations between the European Union and would-be member Turkey go...
Posted by erkan at
02:26 AM
|
TrackBack
December 12, 2006
Germany As AFOE also notes, Blog Carnival of German-American Relations is Online. Atlantic Review also provides a round up of German Foreign Policy News From DW World. Here is an earlier one. In other earlier but significant posts: * Various...
Posted by erkan at
02:42 PM
|
TrackBack
December 08, 2006
A journalist was telling me EU news were 'boring' and it was really difficult for them to get the reader attention. Well, this might change a bit, look at the Verheugen news: The German news magazine Focus says it...
Posted by erkan at
03:28 PM
|
TrackBack
A notable news from the EU Observer. "Twenty years after the EU launched its student exchange programme Erasmus, the poorest students still find it difficult to take part in it. Meanwhile, participants from the new member states benefit much more...
December 07, 2006
The EU is studying an offer by Turkey to open one port and one airport to traffic from Cyprus, Finland says. The European Commission said the move, if confirmed, was "an important step" towards breaking the deadlock over Turkey's EU...
Posted by erkan at
04:12 PM
|
TrackBack
Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have criticised the Dutch government for giving an insignia to UN peacekeepers who served in the city. They said honouring Dutch troops who were charged with protecting the Muslim Bosnian enclave was "scandalous"....
December 04, 2006
News editors and experts from European, national and regional media will have their say about Vice-President Wallström's new Communication Strategy in a stakeholder conference in Helsinki next week.......... Minority youths torn between cultures as Europe debates integration By: JAMEY KEATEN...
Posted by erkan at
12:38 AM
|
TrackBack
November 28, 2006
Many EU nations were aware that the CIA used their territory for the transfer or detention of terror suspects, a draft European parliament report says. EU Observer in MEPs to shame 11 EU states in final CIA report Europe diary:...
Posted by erkan at
11:02 PM
|
TrackBack
November 27, 2006
The murders of Alexander Litvinenko and Anna Politkovskaya hung over the EU-Russia summit in Helsinki on Friday (24 November) in a meeting that did not resolve the Polish-Russian meat row but did see progress on Siberian overflights and environmental cooperation...
Posted by erkan at
04:18 AM
|
TrackBack
November 25, 2006
Most of the new EU states still lag behind older member nations in terms of competitiveness, says a joint UK and US academic report. EU-Russia summit delays new pact as Poland risks damaging its reputation with its veto. Dossier of...
Posted by erkan at
01:31 PM
|
TrackBack
November 24, 2006
The EU and Russia will not start talks on a new post-2007 "Strategic Partnership Treaty" at a summit in Helsinki on Friday after Poland on Thursday upheld its veto on the issue, despite intense two-day long negotiations in Brussels and...
Posted by erkan at
02:49 PM
|
TrackBack
November 23, 2006
Sweden has a near perfect democracy, followed by Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, according to a survey of 167 countries by the Economist Intelligence Unit. With countries ranked according to their electoral process, government functioning, political participation, political culture...
Posted by erkan at
02:42 PM
|
TrackBack
November 22, 2006
Dossier of Thursday, November 16, 2006; Dissonance in the Turkish March The recent publication of a report in which the European Commission criticises the slow pace of reforms undertaken by Turkey to enter the EU is feeding the debate in...
Posted by erkan at
08:30 PM
|
TrackBack
Mark Beunderman: In a move to curry favour with the EU, Turkey has said it will quickly change a notorious article of its penal code curbing free speech - but at the same time, Ankara has put its ties with...
Posted by erkan at
02:52 AM
|
TrackBack
November 21, 2006
The Finnish presidency has set the deadline for Turkey to open its ports and airports to ships and planes from Cyprus to 6 December 2006.....So EU raises the pressure on Turkey "This new campaign for Mercedes SLK AMG, with some...
Posted by erkan at
09:11 PM
|
TrackBack
November 20, 2006
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen in Deal fairly with Turkey: European leaders must therefore take up two challenges. First, they should say clearly to their own voters that the EU must live up to its promises to Turkey, and that this is in...
Posted by erkan at
05:38 PM
|
TrackBack
Several former EU politicians have called for a "leap" on the European political scene to create enough impetus to see through institutional reform in the bloc by 2009. Poland upholds veto despite Vanhanen appeal; Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen failed...
November 17, 2006
Segolene Royal will be the French Socialists presidential candidate at elections next year, after a clear victory over two rivals in a vote. Well, I could not imagine another winner... Europhobia: The French Presidential race - a quick summary...
Posted by erkan at
01:55 AM
|
TrackBack
The commander of the Turkish army says his country has suspended all military ties with France. Gen Ilker Basbug said this was in protest at a bill passed by the French National Assembly to make it a crime to deny...
Posted by erkan at
12:39 AM
|
TrackBack
November 16, 2006
On the occasion of the International Day of Tolerance (16 November), Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg stressed that European governments needs to take stronger action to ensure that the current increase in Xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Tziganism is curtailed. "I fear that if...
Posted by erkan at
06:22 PM
|
TrackBack
November 13, 2006
A multinational group of scholars, politicians and religious leaders convened by the United Nations began meeting Sunday in Istanbul to discuss ways to improve increasingly violent relations between Islamic and Western societies. The group, formed in 2005 as part of...
Posted by erkan at
01:10 PM
|
TrackBack
November 12, 2006
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül has said that the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), widely considered to limit freedom of expression in Turkey, could be amended before a key European Union summit. And in another news, Turkey...
Posted by erkan at
02:38 PM
|
TrackBack
November 11, 2006
LA Times editorial says "It's too important to Europe, and vice versa, for talks over its entrance into the EU to founder.... Flag-drapped coffin of former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is carried by honour guards during his funeral ceremony at...
Posted by erkan at
03:58 PM
|
TrackBack
November 06, 2006
A power failure plunged around ten million Europeans into darkness for an hour on Saturday, November 4th. After this cut the press ponders the solidity of the European connection system and considers ways to avoid this type of incident. US...
Posted by erkan at
06:30 PM
|
TrackBack
November 05, 2006
HELSINKI - The Finnish presidency of the European Union on Sunday called for Iraq not to use the death penalty against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, a statement said. Meanwhile Turkey said Saddam sentence is no excuse to split up...
Posted by erkan at
11:47 PM
|
TrackBack
November 01, 2006
Financial Times feeds the concerned public substantially: Daniel Dombey says Report puts Turkey’s EU hopes in jeopardy and with Fidelius Schmid in Brussels and,Vincent Boland in Ankara he underlines that Risky decision over accession talks could turn sour and a...
Dossier of Tuesday, October 31, 2006; The cost of global warming Netherlands - Trouw | Tuesday, October 31, 2006; The Armenian question in the Dutch legislative elections Sweden - Dagens Nyheter | Monday, October 30, 2006; Ralf Dahrendorf on the...
Posted by erkan at
11:40 AM
|
TrackBack
The Finnish EU presidency is organising a meeting between EU, Turkey, Greece, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot authorities in an attempt to prevent a collapse in EU-Turkey accession talks while Erdoğan says gov’t will not give away Cyprus. Tension rises...
Posted by erkan at
01:01 AM
|
TrackBack
October 31, 2006
German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that her country's EU presidency in the first half of next year will "not solve the problem" of the shelved EU constitution, following discussions on the charter with Dutch leader Jan Peter Balkenende. The...
Posted by erkan at
01:40 AM
|
TrackBack
October 30, 2006
Dossier of Friday, October 27, 2006; Soldiers' photos damage the image of German armed forces Photos of German soldiers posing with skulls in Afghanistan have sparked a fierce debate about the the deployment of German armed forces abroad and the...
Posted by erkan at
09:10 PM
|
TrackBack
Thousands of Turks march with flags during a candlelight procession to mark the 83rd anniversary of Republic Day in Istanbul, October 29, 2006. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas Nation celebrates 83 years of republican governance Turkish children and women watch a parade...
Posted by erkan at
12:37 AM
|
TrackBack
October 29, 2006
Joost Lagendijk got married with NTV correspondent Nevin Sungur yesterday....The wedding news in Turkish In the mean time, while Ankara sees EU’s repetitive calls incompatible with fairness, EU is reported to be working on new crisis management plan to...
Posted by erkan at
04:09 AM
|
TrackBack
October 27, 2006
The detailed screening meeting on Chapter 22 "Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments" of the EU accession negotiations has begun in Brussels. Turkey gets the same score but moves 2 steps down compared to 2005 in this year's Worldwide...
Posted by erkan at
02:50 PM
|
TrackBack
Interior ministers from Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Poland, who attended a two-day UK meeting on 25-26 October 2006, were told by UK Home Secretary and MI5 chief John Reid that terrorism is the "biggest threat to all European nations"....
Posted by erkan at
10:53 AM
|
TrackBack
October 23, 2006
It is the first day of Ramadan today as I managed to get up early this time to make it to the family breakfast at my parents'. Last year it was a disaster as I could only make it...
Posted by erkan at
09:01 AM
|
TrackBack
October 19, 2006
The launch of Metop, Europe's most sophisticated weather and climate satellite, has been delayed again. MetOp1, a revolutionary state-of-the-art satellite, will be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan A British anti-EU video.."The EU is a monster that needs to be stopped...
Posted by erkan at
01:24 AM
|
TrackBack
October 18, 2006
Susanne Fowler in International Herald Tribune The old ways linger in this modernizing Turkish metropolis, whose 15 million residents are both eager and hesitant to be embraced as European. The feeling is perhaps most tangible during Ramazan, as the Islamic...
Posted by erkan at
06:13 AM
|
TrackBack
October 17, 2006
A Polish student has won a competition to design a logo for the EU's 50th birthday celebrations next year. EU to celebrate subdued 50th birthday party Heads of state and government will try to advance energy talks with Russia...
Posted by erkan at
11:57 PM
|
TrackBack
October 15, 2006
Houston Chronicle editorial entitled as "Legislating truth" says: .....By trying to legislate history, France's parliament might silence "genocide doubters." That's different from persuading them. By smothering debate, France also silences its best advocates for truth — voices, perhaps, like those...
Posted by erkan at
01:38 AM
|
TrackBack
October 14, 2006
Italian film-maker Gillo Pontecorvo, who directed The Battle Of Algiers, has died at the age of 86. Germany Seeks to Revive EU Constitution by 2009, Merkel Says. and "How large can and should the European Union be? A renewed...
Posted by erkan at
01:41 PM
|
TrackBack
John Ward Anderson of Washington Post says: The complex relationship between Turkey and Europe played out Thursday in two European capitals, as Turkey's leading novelist was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in literature in Stockholm and French lawmakers here passed...
October 11, 2006
Verheugen said "I have my reasons for being undiplomatic" Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and central Asia are putting EU states at risk of a deadly outbreak, health officials have warned. America and Europe Drifting Apart says Atlantic...
Posted by erkan at
10:10 PM
|
TrackBack
David Rennie of Telegraph says "Turkey's painful progress towards European Union membership has been plunged into crisis by a dispute with the French over the massacre of Armenians during and after the 1914-18 war." FP Passport's should also be...
Posted by erkan at
06:49 AM
|
TrackBack
October 10, 2006
BBC also covered the event quoting PM Erdogan: "This is an issue between Turkey and Armenia. It is none of France's business." Though I am not sure whether that is only the business of Turkey and Armenia, thanks to French...
Posted by erkan at
08:30 AM
|
TrackBack
October 08, 2006
The EU has agreed to provide information on air passengers flying from Europe to more US government agencies and more quickly, in a revised agreement adopted on Friday (6 October). Aigars Kalvitis of People party poses in the party...
Posted by erkan at
09:06 PM
|
TrackBack
October 07, 2006
"Angela Merkel, who opposes EU membership for Turkey, will pay her first state visit to Ankara Thursday. In an interview with DW-WORLD.DE, US-based expert Soner Cagaptay stressed that Turkey is part of Europe. Visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel (3rd L)...
Posted by erkan at
01:30 AM
|
TrackBack
October 06, 2006
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is accompanied by Turkey's EU negotiator Ali Babacan (L) and bodyguards during a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara October 5, 2006. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas * German...
Posted by erkan at
03:50 AM
|
TrackBack
The two-seat parliament farce must end; One million citizens petition Brussels to become the seat of EU parliament by Paul Wheatley: On September 18, the first ever European Union citizens' initiative reached the magical figure of one million signatures. The...
Posted by erkan at
02:35 AM
|
TrackBack
'Mr. Buyukanit's remarks are unfair. I can't see anything more natural than a citizen questioning the choices and tendencies of a country's administration. Professor Cizre is not a civil servant but a scientist,' says Aytar of TESEV * The full...
Posted by erkan at
01:39 AM
|
TrackBack
Leaders 'turning Turks against EU' By George Parker in Brussels and Hugh Williamson in Berlin European leaders who want to keep Turkey out of the union and talk instead of a "privileged partnership" with Ankara were yesterday denounced as irresponsible...
Posted by erkan at
12:22 AM
|
TrackBack
October 05, 2006
On the eve of the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Turkey, the Turkish representation to the EU caused outrage by cancelling a long-planned visit of MEPs from the Environment Committee. The reason is the refusal of the EP...
Posted by erkan at
02:39 PM
|
TrackBack
October 04, 2006
The European Commission is next month set to call upon EU leaders to launch a "major communication effort" on enlargement - but Brussels itself is struggling to find the right wording to convey the bloc's expansion more positively and Richard...
Posted by erkan at
01:36 PM
|
TrackBack
One year after the start of Turkey's accession talks with the EU, US president George W. Bush has said it is "in the interest" of Washington that Ankara joins the bloc. I am not sure if this really helps...
Posted by erkan at
02:25 AM
|
TrackBack
October 03, 2006
Two major media shaped the mass media programming in Turkey and live coverage personnel had to work hard not to be behind of the rivals. First of all, The Turkish army's new top commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit spoke during a...
LA Times has a good piece on Nobel Prize for Literature: Critics of the decreasingly influential award charge that political agendas trump great writing, but maybe it's always been thus. By Susan Salter Reynolds: SIGN ON TO Ladbrokes.com, Britain's premier...
Posted by erkan at
05:59 AM
|
TrackBack
October 02, 2006