IN BERLIN, SCHROEDER PRESENTS QUADRIGA AWARD TO ERDOGAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip, who is currently in Berlin for an official visit, yesterday met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations and Turkey’s European Union membership bid. At a ceremony, Schroeder presented the Quadriga Award to Erdogan in recognition of his contributions to democratic reforms. Schroeder expressed support for Ankara to begin its accession talks with the Union, but added that negotiations could last for some time. Speaking at a joint press conference, the German chancellor said that he believed the EU Commission report on Turkey due out on Wednesday would be positive, and urged Ankara to continue its reforms. Later, Erdogan attended a meeting of the Turkish-German Chamber of Industry and Trade. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that he expected Berlin would support Ankara beginning its accession talks with the Union and criticized French proposals to subject Turkey’s EU bid to a referendum. The premier stressed that at its December summit, the EU would decide whether or not to give a date to Turkey to begin accession talks, adding that the talks could last anywhere from five to 15 years. /Cumhuriyet/

GUL: “THE UPCOMING EU REPORT ON TURKEY IS POSITIVE”
Saying yesterday that he had seen a draft of the European Union Commission’s report on Turkey set for release on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul characterized the report as quite positive and reflective of the entire situation. Speaking to reporters after attending the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC)-European Union Joint Forum’s International Symposium in Istanbul, Gul said that the report had been prepared realistically, underlining Ankara’s numerous reforms on the road to EU membership. Asked if Turkey would accept a “conditional date” for membership talks, the foreign minister reiterated that Ankara would reject any such offer. /Turkiye/

ERDOGAN PROFILE MAKES COVER OF NEWSWEEK
In a cover story profile in this week’s Newsweek International entitled “A Good European?,” writer Owen Matthews lauds Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as having “come a long way in a short time.” Added the magazine, “Other countries in the region will be inspired to follow Turkey's example – proving to skeptical Europeans, and the world, that Islam is not incompatible with democracy.” /Hurriyet/

SPEAKING TO NEW YORK TIMES, ERDOGAN SAYS ANY OFFER LESS THAN FULL EU MEMBERSHIP WOULD BE “UGLY”
In an interview with The New York Times published yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan firmly rejected any affiliation with the European Union falling short of full membership. “No member country or candidate country has been offered such a thing or had preconditions placed on their negotiations,” Erdogan told the paper. “It’s just in the case of Turkey that these ideas come forward? No, that would be ugly.” /Star/

TALAT CRITICIZES GREEK CYPRIOT EFFORTS TO BLOCK DIRECT EU-TRNC TRADE
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday criticized Greek Cypriot efforts to prevent direct trade between his nation and the European Union. Talat stressed that the Turkish Cypriots had done their best to reach a settlement on the island and urged his Greek Cypriot neighbors to do the same. /Aksam/

GERMAN PAPER PREDICTS POSITIVE EU COMMISSION REPORT
German daily Bild yesterday predicted that the European Union Commission report on Turkey due out on Wednesday would be a positive one. The newspaper added that Ankara had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria and that it believed the commission, at the December European Union summit, would propose beginning accession talks with Turkey. /Aksam/

BAYKAL, CEM MOVE TOWARDS LEFTIST COALITION
New Turkey Party (YTP) Leader Ismail Cem yesterday paid a visit to main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, who recently called for a merger between his party and the YTP. During their nearly one-hour meeting, Cem said that he would propose that his party’s assembly evaluate the situation and work intensively for such a merger, adding that it would be a first step towards social democrats coming to power. /Turkiye/

STATE RELEASES SEPTEMBER INFLATION FIGURES
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday released month-on-month inflation figures for September. Inflation last month was 0.94% on the consumer price index (CPI) and 1.85% on the wholesale price index (WPI), pushing year-to-year CPI to 9% and WPI to 12.5%. /Turkiye/