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Ankara Continues Efforts to Join EU

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Dorian Jones

January 04, 2013

ISTANBUL — Ankara has issued a strong attack on the European Union (EU) for what it calls a "bigoted" assessment of Turkey in its report on EU membership requirements published in October. In response, Turkey drew up its own report released this week to counter Brussels'. Despite the current acrimony, Ankara is expressing hopes its membership bid will get back on track with Ireland taking over the EU presidency.

In an unprecedented step, Ankara, earlier this week, published its own assessment of its progress to join the ranks of the European Union in reponse to Brussels' critical assessment which raised concerns over deteriorating human rights in the country.

Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Istanbul, June 26, 2012.

In the 270-page report, Turkey's Minister for EU membership, Ergemen Bagis, claimed such criticism is "bigoted" and "politically motivated."

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said his country's patience is running out.

"The ongoing stalemate in accession negotiations is not acceptable," he said. "Eighteen negotiation chapters are blocked. Eight chapters were blocked by the council in 2006, and France blocked six and likewise the Greek Cypriots blocked six. So the ongoing stalemate in accession negotiations is damaging the process itself."

Turkey began EU accession negotiations in 2005, but the process has been extremely slow.

So far only a few areas of negotiation - called "chapters" - have been opened. Just one chapter has been completed.

Many influential politicians in France, Germany, Austria and some other EU countries are opposed to granting Turkey full membership.

But international relations expert Soli Ozel of Istanbul's Kadir Has University said with the Irish taking over the EU presidency, Turkish-EU relations could turn a corner.

"Ireland is a good country to preside now over the EU. It has good relations with Turkey," said Ozel. "I think Turks like the Irish so we may see some movement in the right direction in Turkish EU negotiations."

Dublin taking over the EU presidency comes with growing expectations in Ankara that Paris could ease its opposition to Turkey's bid. The new French President François Holland does not share his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy's ardent opposition to the Turkish bid.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Unal said there is a room for cautious optimism.

"We are working with EU partners and countries supportive of Turkey's EU accession. I think it will not be wrong to say receiving positive signals," said Unal. "But on the other hand its early to speak about concrete outcomes."

According to Sinan Ulgen, head of Edam, a research institute in Istanbul, Ankara is reassessing its stance towards the EU after recent years of growing indifference. He said, "The foreign affairs minister [Ahmet Davutoglu] has realized that the Arab Spring is going to be much more problematic for the countries in question and also for Turkey's relationship with those countries than what had been initially estimated."

"So it's true that Turkey is seeking security by strengthening its alliance with its traditional partners in the West," Elgen added. "That is the case most particularly with regard to Washington but also to some extent with the EU."

Turkey's vibrant economy and large market could give further incentive to the EU to reinvigorate its relations with Turkey. But analysts warn the bringing of Turkey's bid out of its present static state, will likely mean that Ankara will have to address more seriously Brussels' growing concerns over the state of human rights.

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Comments

by: JKF from: Ottawa, Canada

January 07, 2013 7:17 PM

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In my opinion, Erdogan continues to antagonize the EU about its acceptance of Turkey into the EU. The fault lies with his policies and a poor record on many issues, that are concerning to Western democracies/people and their values, and not just the EU. Some of the issues, in my opinion, are:
1. Freedom of the press, one of the worst records on the planet;
2. Supression of minority rights, Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, etc.
3. A political system that is not secular, it needs to be fair to all citizens;
4. Continued occupation of Cyprus related issues;
5. Continued desecration of St. Sophia;
6. Failure to re-instate property to the Orthodox church;
7. Failure to provide support/ fund to minority educational institutions.
8. Poor safeguards/protection of religeous freedoms, especially for the Orthodox Christians;
9.Continued unresolved/challenges issues wrt Greek sovereignty/border issues in the Agean/Med;
10. Judiciary issues wrt the gurantee of rights of accused, pre and during trials;
11. Failure to recognize/deal/compensate victims of security services errors;
Just a few of the issues, that are visible and clear irritants/no-go indicators to all, not just the EU. I can't see a way ahead on most of these issues, if the current Turkish gvmt accepts no responsibility/corrective proactive actions for the issues. To this day, Turkey has not apologized or even rcognized some of the brutal execess of their Ottoman empire, including such as the Armenian genocide..

by: Maithe from: Paris, France

January 05, 2013 5:47 PM

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Europe has enough problems without a country like Turkey in the middle. M. Erdogan you should learn that shouting and insulting the EU will not help you .Ireland will not change a iota to what the other members are thinking. Don't dream. You should be ashamed to behave the way you do -so selfishly - when so many countries collapse or face big dangers around you.
NATO is already helping you. It's quite enough.
And please VOA don't put Turkey in the section "Europe"! Thanks !

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Ankara Continues Efforts to Join EU

<h1>Ankara Continues Efforts to Join EU</h1><img src="http://www.voanews.com/App_Themes/VOA_en-US/img/colorLogo.gif"/>Ankara has issued a strong attack on the European Union (EU) for what it calls a "bigoted" assessment of Turkey in its report on EU membership requirements published in October. In response, Turkey drew up its own report released this week to counter Brussels'. Despite the current acrimony, Ankara is expressing hopes its membership bid will get back on track with Ireland taking over the EU presidency.<br /> <br /> In an unprecedented step, Ankara, earlier this week,  published its own assessment of its progress to join the ranks of the European Union in reponse to Brussels' critical assessment which raised concerns over deteriorating human rights in the country.<br /> <br /> <div class='embedded_content_object'><div onclick="expandMedia('52ed83528dda4db2bc9566e9fe4b87ae','Big')" id='expandSmall52ed83528dda4db2bc9566e9fe4b87ae' class='expandSmall floatLeft' style='width:268px'><div class='contentImage floatLeft' style='width:268px'><img class='photo' alt="Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Istanbul, June 26, 2012." border='0' src='http://gdb.voanews.com/FE5EF747-6C07-4F1F-BBED-DB0C2ACB6E1F_w268.jpg' /><span class='imageCaption'>Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Istanbul, June 26, 2012.</span></div></div><div id='expandBig52ed83528dda4db2bc9566e9fe4b87ae' class='item_hide'><div class='contentImage floatNone'><div class='expandMediaClose' onclick="expandMedia('52ed83528dda4db2bc9566e9fe4b87ae','Small')"><span>x</span></div><div class='watermark'><a href='http://gdb.voanews.com/FE5EF747-6C07-4F1F-BBED-DB0C2ACB6E1F_mw1024_n_s.jpg' rel='ibox' title="Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Istanbul, June 26, 2012."><img class='photo' alt="Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Istanbul, June 26, 2012." border='0' src='http://gdb.voanews.com/FE5EF747-6C07-4F1F-BBED-DB0C2ACB6E1F_w640_s.jpg' /></a></div><span class='imageCaption'>Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis in Istanbul, June 26, 2012.</span></div></div></div> In the 270-page report, Turkey's Minister for EU membership, Ergemen Bagis, claimed such criticism is "bigoted" and "politically motivated."<br /> <br /> Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said his country's patience is running out.<br /> <br /> "The ongoing stalemate in accession negotiations is not acceptable," he said. "Eighteen negotiation chapters are blocked. Eight chapters were blocked by the council in 2006, and France blocked six and likewise the Greek Cypriots blocked six. So the ongoing stalemate in accession negotiations is damaging the process itself."<br /> <br /> Turkey began EU accession negotiations in 2005, but the process has been extremely slow.<br /> <br /> So far only a few areas of negotiation - called "chapters" - have been opened. Just one chapter has been completed.<br /> <br /> Many influential politicians in France, Germany, Austria and some other EU countries are opposed to granting Turkey full membership.<br /> <br /> But international relations expert Soli Ozel of Istanbul's Kadir Has University said with the Irish taking over the EU presidency, Turkish-EU relations could turn a corner.<br /> <br /> "Ireland is a good country to preside now over the EU. It has good relations with Turkey," said Ozel. "I think Turks like the Irish so we may see some movement in the right direction in Turkish EU negotiations."<br /> <br /> Dublin taking over the EU presidency comes with growing expectations in Ankara that Paris could ease its opposition to Turkey's bid. The new French President François Holland does not share his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy's ardent opposition to the Turkish bid.<br /> <br /> Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Unal said there is a room for cautious optimism.<br /> <br /> "We are working with EU partners and countries supportive of Turkey's EU accession. I think it will not be wrong to say receiving positive signals," said Unal. "But on the other hand its early to speak about concrete outcomes."<br /> <br /> According to Sinan Ulgen, head of Edam, a research institute in Istanbul, Ankara is reassessing its stance towards the EU after recent years of growing indifference. He said, "The foreign affairs minister [Ahmet Davutoglu] has realized that the Arab Spring is going to be much more problematic for the countries in question and also for Turkey's relationship with those countries than what had been initially estimated."<br /> <br /> "So it's true that Turkey is seeking security by strengthening its alliance with its traditional partners in the West," Elgen added. "That is the case most particularly with regard to Washington but also to some extent with the EU."<br /> <br /> Turkey's vibrant economy and large market could give further incentive to the EU to reinvigorate its relations with Turkey. But analysts warn the bringing of Turkey's bid out of its present static state, will likely mean that Ankara will have to address more seriously Brussels' growing concerns over the state of human rights.<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.voanews.com/content/ankara-continues-efforts-to-join-eu/1577944.html"/><meta name="syndication-source" content="http://www.voanews.com/content/ankara-continues-efforts-to-join-eu/1577944.html"/><img src="http://livetracker.voanews.eu/counter.lt?PageType=256&RecordId=1577944&SiteId=415&r=1466776064&it=0&pd=20130104191207&url=ArticleID1577944" alt="" style="border:none;" height="1" width="1">

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