ERDOGAN RECEIVES BELGIAN DELEGATION
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received visiting Belgian Parliament Speaker Herman De Croo and an accompanying delegation. During their meeting, Erdogan thanked De Croo for Belgium’s support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Erdogan said that Ankara had implemented the Copenhagen criteria and expected a date to begin its EU talks soon at the Dec. 17 Union summit. Discussing his contacts in the country, Croo said that from everything he had seen all sectors of Turkish society support the government’s EU aspirations. He also expressed his hope that Ankara would get a date to begin talks at this month’s summit. Commenting on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that he couldn’t understand how Greek Cyprus had become an EU member this May without first resolving the island’s “border dispute.” /Aksam/

GUL ATTENDS TURKISH-EU CONSULTATION COMMITTEE MEETING AT THE HAGUE
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently at The Hague, yesterday attended a joint meeting of the Turkish-European Union Mixed Consultation Committee. Addressing the gathering, Gul warned that if the Union doesn’t decide at this month’s EU summit to begin Ankara’s accession talks, then this could create a crisis of confidence, adding that both sides should do their best to prevent this. In related news, Gul is due to travel to Ljubljana, Slovenia today to meet with his Slovenian counterpart Ivo Vajgl to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations and Turkey’s EU membership bid. He is also expected to meet with Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek and Prime Minister Anton Rop to seek support for Turkey’s EU talks. Slovenia has been an EU member since May. /Cumhuriyet/

BAYKAL: “THE GOVT SHOULD SPEAK UP ON OUR EU BID”
Main opposition Democratic People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday charged that the government was “keeping silent” in the face of important developments concerning Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Stressing that this attitude would lead nowhere, Baykal warned that the EU is pressing Turkey to both recognize Greek Cyprus and accept a “special partnership” arrangement rather than full membership. Baykal further called for the EU bid to be discussed by Parliament. /Hurriyet/

YAS CONVENES
The Supreme Military Council (YAS) chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met yesterday. During the gathering, in addition to regional issues including Iraq, the fight against terrorism and the threat of fundamentalist groups working to undermine the secular republic were also discussed. Furthermore, eight military personnel were dismissed for disciplinary violations. In the evening, the members of the YAS attended a banquet hosted by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Cumhuriyet/

POWELL TO SEEK BELGIAN, DUTCH SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKS
Outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due next Monday to begin a tour of several European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria, as well as Morocco. During his visits, Powell is due to seek support for Ankara’s European Union accession talks before the Dec. 17 EU summit, and he is expected to urge European officials to begin Ankara’s talks without any conditions. Powell’s possible farewell visit to Europe as secretary of state is being seen as part of Washington’s final push to encourage the EU to give Turkey a date to begin its talks. In related news, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher reiterated on Monday that Ankara should be given a date to begin its talks, saying, “We certainly believe that Turkey needs to be put on a path to membership.” /Star/

BELGIUM, SLOVAKIA AND POLAND EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKS
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said yesterday that his government supported beginning Ankara’s accession talks next year, adding that the talks’ only goal should be full EU membership. Addressing a conference on Turkey’s EU bid, De Gucht stressed that “privileged partnership” proposals for Turkey were unacceptable. In related news, the Slovakian Parliament yesterday said that it supports Ankara beginning its EU accession talks, and the Polish government declared that the Union should begin Ankara’s talks in the first half of next year. /Turkiye/

IN RUNUP TO KEY EU SUMMIT, ANKARA PREPARES FOR EUROPEAN VISITORS
In the runup to this month’s key European Union summit, with the fate of Ankara’s EU talks hanging in the balance, Ankara is getting ready to receive a host of top-level European visitors. Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopez is due to arrive in Ankara today for a three-day official visit. He is expected to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Turkey’s EU bid. European Parliament President Josep Borrell is also expected to pay a four-day official visit to Turkey starting tomorrow. During his stay, Borrell will be accompanied by Joost Lagendijk, the co-chair of the Turkish-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission. In addition, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht is expected to arrive in Ankara tomorrow for a two-day official visit. During his stay, De Gucht will meet with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Finally, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moritanos is due to visit Ankara on Dec. 10-11 to discuss its EU bid. /Turkiye/

EU CONSIDERS STARTING ACCESSION TALKS “WITHOUT UNDUE DELAY”
A European Parliament committee yesterday recommended that the EU open membership talks with Turkey “without undue delay.” An amended report approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Union’s assembly said that the Dec. 17 EU summit should “open the negotiations with Turkey without undue delay” if Ankara meets the Union’s conditions. “The [report’s] compromise got the balance between constructive and critical in the right way,” said Camiel Eurlings, the Dutch Christian Democrat who drafted the document. In an amendment, the committee said that opening negotiations would “presuppose recognition by Turkey” of Greek Cyprus. /Sabah/

AUSTRIA COMES OUT FOR “SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP” ARRANGEMENT
Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel yesterday said that the European Union at its summit later this month must make clear to Turkey that any negotiations may result in an arrangement other than full membership. “The decision about Turkey should say that the accession talks should be open-ended and that there could be many alternatives to EU membership,” added Schuessel. /Star/

TRIPARTITE MEETING DISCUSSES TURKISH TRUCKERS’ SECURITY IN IRAQ
Meeting in Ankara yesterday, Turkish, Iraqi and US officials gathered to discuss the security of Turkish truck drivers working in Iraq. The officials reportedly agreed to take additional measures to boost security, including the expected support of coalition forces. In related news, at a meeting in Iran, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu stated that since the Iraq war, 66 Turkish citizens had been killed in the country and 16 taken hostage, while 16 others remain missing. /Turkiye/

PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL LAW
As part of Ankara’s efforts to harmonize with European Union norms, a revised Criminal Procedural Law (CMUK) was approved yesterday by Parliament’s Justice Commission. The bill is expected to be debated by the full Parliament this weekend. /Hurriyet/

PRESS CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHTS NEW, OPEN NSC
Playing host to some 200 Turkish and foreign reporters, the national Security Council (NSC) General Secretariat yesterday held its first-ever press conference in its 71-year-old history. Yigit Alpagon, the NSC’s first civilian secretary-general, gave a detailed briefing on the institution. Addressing the journalists, Alpagon said that 294 people worked at the NSC General Secretariat, including 15 military officers. In line with Ankara’s latest efforts to harmonize with the European Union, over the last few years the NSC has been transformed into a more advisory body. Alpagon stated that despite certain structural changes, there had been no change in the NSC’s function. “We will continue to evaluate internal and external threats to the country’s security,” said the secretary-general. /Turkiye/