GUL TO VISIT LEBANON; FRANCE AWAITS ERDOGAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay an official visit to France on July 19-21 to promote Turkey’s EU membership bid. He is expected to meet with French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is set to travel to Lebanon today at the invitation of his Lebanese counterpart Jean Obeid. The two leaders are expected to discuss regional and international issues as well as bilateral relations. /Aksam/

GUL: “TURKEY’S ACCESSION TALKS MAY BEGIN NEXT MARCH”
Appearing on television yesterday, Foreign Minister Abdullah said that if the European Union’s decision at its December summit is positive, Turkey’s accession talks might begin in March. Stressing that Ankara had done its best to implement the Copenhagen criteria, Gul said that he believed that the fall European Commission report on Turkey would be positive, objective and just. Welcoming Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, set to assume the helm of the EC on Nov. 1, Gul stated that he expected positive developments to end the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by August. Commenting on the headscarf ban at Turkish universities, which the European Court of Human Rights this week ruled justifiable, Gul called it wrong and out of step with the nation’s realities. /Turkiye/

NETHERLANDS TAKES OVER EU TERM PRESIDENCY
The Netherlands yesterday took over the European Union Term Presidency from Ireland for six months. Turkey’s EU membership bid will be one of the main items on the EU’s agenda during the Dutch turn at the helm. After meeting with European Commission members at The Hague, Dutch Premier Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters that the EU would treat Ankara justly and work very carefully when deciding whether Turkey will begin accession talks. He said that the EU would decide on the matter during its December summit, using the fall EC progress report on Turkey as a guide. In addition, EC head Romano Prodi pledged that the commission’s report on Turkey would be “objective.” /Turkiye/

EU COMMISSION PREPARES REPORT ON TRNC
Details are emerging on the European Union Commission’s report on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) expected to be issued next week. The seven-page report reportedly proposes that the TRNC begin livestock trade with EU countries as a first step to ending the country’s isolation. Meanwhile, opposing this possible development, the Greek Cypriots are arguing that their EU member government represents the entire island and so the EU cannot conduct trade with the TRNC as a “separate country.” /Turkiye/

BRITAIN PROMISES TO HELP END TRNC’S ISOLATION
Britain has responded affirmatively to a request to help end our nation’s isolation, said Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday. Talat spoke after meeting in London with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Britain's minister for Europe, Denis McShane. “They promised to help and support us,” Talat told a press conference after his meetings in the British Parliament. “We resolved to remain in contact.” /Milliyet/

SERDAR DENKTAS URGES EU TO RECOGNIZE TRNC
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas yesterday called on the European Union to recognize his nation. Speaking to Austrian daily Kurier, Denktas stressed that the Turks and Greeks would jointly represent Cyprus in the EU if the Union recognized his country. “The only way to solve the Cyprus issue is to recognize both parties,” the foreign minister said. /Star/

TALABANI: “IRAQ’S KURDS ARE NOT SEPARATIST”
Iraq’s Kurds are not separatist, asserted Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani yesterday. His remarks, apparently intended to quash a possible controversy, came in the wake of comments Wednesday by Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Masoud Barzani saying that the “Kurdish nation” is “destined to be an independent state.” Speaking at a press conference in Rome, Talabani stressed that Iraqi Kurds favor neither separatism nor Kurdish autonomy. “We don’t favor separatism, and we believe that our future lies in a democratic and federal Iraq,” added Talabani. /Star/

WB’S VORKINK PRAISES TURKEY’S ECONOMIC GROWTH
World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink yesterday praised Turkey’s recent economic growth as healthy because it was achieved by the country’s own economic actors. “The Turkish economy has grown by 12.4% in the first quarter of this year thanks to the recent stability it has achieved,” said Vorkink. “Not only consumption but also production has risen. However, the banking sector should still be more active in the economy.” /Cumhuriyet/

FINANCIAL TIMES: “TURKEY WILL BE THE EU’S NEXT BIG CONUNDRUM”
It may be lucky for Turkey that the Netherlands is taking over the European Union's rotating presidency, argued a Financial Times editorial yesterday. “The Dutch are Atlanticists – so any of their foreign policy decisions will always have that special empathy with Washington,” wrote Judy Dempsey, the FT’s Brussels diplomatic correspondent. “Since Turkey is a vital NATO and US ally – it helps to have a like-minded country holding the EU presidency during such a crucial time.” But, Dempsey continued, a long-simmering debate on Turkey’s membership is due to come to the fore, focusing on issues such as the costs of accession, Turkey’s size and population, and its strategic location. In related news, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on Wednesday emphasized that the EU must treat Turkey’s EU bid fairly without either imposing additional criteria on it or inventing new rules. /Aksam/