GUL APPROVES TRT LAW
President Abdullah Gul yesterday approved a law allowing the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) to broadcast in languages other than Turkish, including Kurdish. In a separate development, Gul also met with Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Secretary General Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos in Istanbul. /Star/
ERDOGAN: OUR GOVT HAS MADE HISTORIC REFORMS
The 16th Business Roundtable Meeting, organized by the Economist Conferences branch of Economist Intelligence, was held yesterday in Istanbul. Addressing a panel on "Turkey at the Crossroads," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that for over five years now Turkey has been undergoing dramatic changes, and stressed that the government had made sweeping reforms towards enhanced democracy and expanded human rights and freedoms. He said the most important of these steps was implementing the Copenhagen criteria and starting accession negotiations with the European Union. He said that by carrying out important economic reforms never attempted by past governments, his government had made Turkey the world`s 17th-largest economy and the sixth biggest in Europe. Calling the private sector the driving force of Turkey`s economy and citing the government`s privatization efforts, he said his administration had successfully implemented a free market system and taken important steps towards reducing the state`s role in the economy. He added that thanks to economic reforms, the government had managed to establish sustainable development, build economic balance and fiscal discipline, and brings stability to the capital and foreign exchanges markets. Erdogan said Turkey`s economy grew by an average of 6.7 percent per year and expressed the government`s determination to continue structural reforms, referring to recent measures on banking and finance. Erdogan said Turkey`s finance sector is now on solid ground compared with the past. He also reiterated Turkey`s determination that no matter how its EU accession talks end, it will continue to implement and consolidate reforms. Speaking to a panel on "Turkey`s Position in the New Geopolitical Landscape," Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that Turkey will continue political and economic reforms despite obstacles and that Turkey is moving towards becoming an open society. /Turkiye/
US` BRYZA: CLOSURE OF THE AKP WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE, BUT THE US CAN`T INTERCEDE
If the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is closed down and Turkey`s European Union talks are halted, this would be unfortunate and hurt US interests, but it would be Turkey`s business, said US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Matt Bryza yesterday. Bryza made the remarks after giving the Turgut Ozal Memorial Lecture at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Asked about the AKP closure case, Bryza said closure of the AKP would be quite unfortunate, and added, "But this is Turkey`s business. It would be inappropriate for us to issue an ultimatum." He also said, "Turkey`s democratic system, its constitutional order, is evolving and it must evolve if Turkey wants to continue walking on its path to EU accession. Things will happen in Turkey that may not accord with the way we structure our democracy, but at the end of the day, honestly, we really are confident that the Turkish democratic system is strong enough to work this out." He also said that Turkish-US relations have improved since 2004. /Milliyet/
IMF PRAISES ANKARA `S PERFORMANCE ON FINAL STANDBY REVIEWS
In a new report on Turkey`s performance in its last two standby agreements, the International Monetary Fund states that Turkey performed quite well regarding the length, commitments and effective use of financial assistance. The report, set to be approved by the IMF Executive Board next month, adds that Turkey was unable to complete any standby agreements besides the last two. /Aksam/
PACE TO VOTE ON TURKEY REPORT TODAY
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is set to convene today to discuss a report and a related resolution on the performance of Turkey`s democratic institutions. Afterwards, the resolution will be put to a vote. The report expresses concerns over the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and it urges the Council of Europe to subject Turkey to review if necessary. /Sabah/
TURKEY FRIENDSHIP GROUP TO BE ESTABLISHED IN EP
Vural Oger, a German-Turkish European parliamentarian from the Socialist Group, and six fellow MEPs have decided to establish an EP Turkey Friendship Group to support Turkey`s EU bid. Graham Watson, the leader of the EP`s third-largest group, the Liberals, is also set to take part in the group, which should go into operation officially in the new legislative year. The group, which is anticipated to have a broader participation in the countries and EP, will work to dispel prejudices about Turkey`s membership on both sides, ease visa procedures, and solve problems such as quota difficulties. /Cumhuriyet/
TUZMEN CALLS ON SPANISH CONTRACTORS TO WORK WITH TURKS
On an official visit to Spain with a large business delegation, State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen yesterday called on Spanish contractors to make investment in league with their Turkish counterparts, and said that Turkey wants to cooperate with Spain in the construction sector. Meeting with Spanish Contractors` Association head David Taguas in Madrid, Tuzmen He said that the Turkish contracting sector made $20 billion in foreign countries last year, up from just $1.4 billion in 2002. He added that 22 of the world`s 225 biggest contractor companies were Turkish. Tuzmen said that Spanish contractors could visit Turkey this fall. He added that the Turkish and Spanish contractors could jointly work in the Middle East, Gulf, Caucasus, Caspian Sea, Central Asian republics and North Africa. Taguas also said that Turkey and Spain should cooperate not only in politics but also in economic and commercial areas. Taguas said that they were making efforts to boost cooperation with Turkey, and the two countries could work in North Africa, which needs a great deal of infrastructure work. Tuzmen also said that a Spanish company would make investments worth _400 million in Turkey. /Sabah/
TURKEY BOWS TO GERMANY IN EURO SEMIFINAL
Facing Germany last night in the first semifinal match of the European Football Championship 2008, the Turkish National Football Team lost due to a last-minute goal, 3-2. Playing without eight key players, the national team won great praise for its performance in the match. Germany will come up against the victor of the today`s second semifinal match between Russia and Spain in the final on Sunday in Vienna , Austria . /All Papers/