CABINET FINALIZES HARMONIZATION PACKAGE, SET TO SEND IT TO PARLIAMENT
At its meeting yesterday, the Cabinet finalized the contents of the sixth European Union harmonization package, and then decided to send it to Parliament soon. The government hopes to pass the package by this Sunday, and then prepare its 500-page National Program to be sent to the European Union Commission. After that, the two sides are expected to gather in July to finalize Turkey’s Accession Partnership Document. Within this framework, Turkey could have the opportunity to begin accession talks at the end of 2004. If the government is unable to pass the package through Parliament and the National Program is not ready by July 1, a meeting between the EU Commission and Turkey could be postponed to a later date, a scenario that Ankara wants to avoid. /All Papers/
PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ARINC: “PEOPLE INVOLVED IN CORRUPTION SHOULD FACE PUNISHMENT”
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that he was anxiously awaiting the results of Parliament’s special Anti-Corruption Commission, adding that anyone involved in corruption should face certain punishment. After a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Arinc told reporters that all the commission’s needs had been met to facilitate their work, adding that its members were working in cooperation with some 60 experts in their fields. “Everybody in Turkey wants to see the commission swiftly wrap up its work and the punishment of those involved in corruption,” he said. In related news, former State Ministers Recep Onal and Gunes Taner yesterday testified before the commission about their terms in office. /Turkiye/
SEZER VETOES APPOINTMENT OF DEMIROZ AS NEW TRT DIRECTOR-GENERAL
Prime Minister Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday vetoed a bill appointing Senol Dirioz as the new director-general of state broadcaster the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). Sezer sent the bill back to the Cabinet on the grounds that under the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) law, the RTUK lacked any authority to select the TRT helm. /Cumhuriyet/
GENERAL STAFF: “GREECE IS DELIBERATELY TRYING TO PROVOKE TENSIONS OVER AEGEAN AIRSPACE”
The Turkish General Staff issued a statement yesterday vehemently denying a news report claiming that on Monday Turkish fighter jets had harassed a Greek passenger plane en route from Athens to Istanbul. “This report is utterly without foundation and is furthermore provocative,” said the statement, adding that numerous false Greek allegations of Turkey violating its airspace in recent weeks were a deliberate attempt to raise tensions over Aegean airspace. “Flying a distance of 10 kilometers from a civilian aircraft constitutes neither a violation nor harassment,” the statement said. /Hurriyet/
US ENVOY URGES TRNC TO RECONSIDER ANNAN PLAN
US State Department Cyprus envoy Thomas Weston yesterday called on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to reconsider UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan for the island, alleging that its opposition to the plan had been a stumbling block to a settlement. Speaking in Brussels, on the first stop of a tour that will also take him to Ankara and Lefkosa, Weston told reporters that the TRNC should accept the United Nations plan so the island can join the European Union next year as a unified state. “I see a chance [for agreement] and I think we all have to work for it,” said Weston. “[This] will require a lot of work and contact between the US, the EU, EU member states and others.” He continued, “A solution to the Cyprus problem can only help Turkey’s own relations with and advancement towards the EU.” He also praised the TRNC decision in April to allow cross-border movements, but added, “These measures are not a substitute for a settlement, and don't diminish the need for a settlement.'' /Turkiye/
EU COMMISSION FOR ENLARGEMENT DIRECTOR-GENERAL LANDABURU TO VISIT ANKARA
EU Commission for Enlargement Director-General Eneko Landaburu is set to pay a two-day visit to Ankara tomorrow in order to hold a series of meetings with Turkish officials. Landaburu is scheduled to meet with Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Volkan Bozkir and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, among others. /Cumhuriyet/
BAYKAL: “THE EU SHOULD SCHEDULE OUR ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS FOR 2005”
Speaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that the government should implement the necessary reforms on its European Union membership bid but not only for the EU, but also for the sake of the nation’s future. Touching on the sixth EU harmonization package due in Parliament this week, the CHP leader said that at the end of 2004 the EU should give Turkey a date to begin accession negotiations in 2005. At its December 2004 summit, the Union is set to review Turkey’s accession progress with an eye towards beginning negotiations. Also speaking on the privatization of state petrochemical concern Petkim, Baykal said that the purchase price offered by Standard Chemical, a division of the controversial Uzan group, was less than even Petkim’s total sales for a single year. “This is no way to privatize,” he added. /Milliyet/
POWELL SENDS LETTER TO GUL THANKING HIM FOR MODERNIZATION MESSAGE TO MUSLIM WORLD
US Secretary of State Colin Powell this week reportedly sent a letter to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul thanking him for his recent calls for reform at an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting in Tehran, Iran. In an address to the OIC’s foreign minister’s meeting late last month, Gul urged his fellow majority-Muslim nations to follow a “new vision,” one embracing transparent democratic governance, freedom, human rights, and gender equality, and to furthermore reject the path of corruption, ignorance and violence. According to diplomatic sources, Powell praised Gul’s message at the meeting, saying such words deserved to resound and echo throughout the Muslim world. /Milliyet/
ERDOGAN: “WITH THE TRUST OF THE NATION, WE’VE SUCCEEDED IN PUTTING THE ECONOMY ON THE RIGHT TRACK”
Speaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that through the trust and support of the people and the AKP’s unceasing efforts, the nation’s economy has now been successfully stabilized, adding that difficult days were behind it. The nation has much more hope in the future, declared Erdogan. Furthermore, said the premier, economic indicators were on the upswing and there is no reason to expect the appreciating Turkish lira to cause any problems. Erdogan added that he expected Turkey to play a skillful role in efforts for peace in the Middle East. /Aksam/
ISTANBUL HOSTS SIXTH ANNUAL “THREE SEAS” ENERGY CONFERENCE
The sixth annual “A Tale of Three Seas” energy conference began yesterday in Istanbul. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the three-day event, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that since 1994 significant progress has been made on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project to transport oil and natural gas from the Caspian Basin to Western markets. Conference organizers Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) bill the event as the premier gathering of senior energy decision makers on the integration of Eurasian energy markets, and key issues influencing the energy futures of the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean Seas, and the Middle East. /Cumhuriyet, http://www.cera.org/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION