ERDOGAN, BAYKAL DISCUSS TURKEY’S EU BID
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal to discuss next week’s pivotal European Union summit, where a decision on starting Ankara’s accession talks is expected. Baykal said that Ankara shouldn’t accept any process aimed at something besides full EU membership. Erdogan echoed these sentiments, adding that even if Ankara fails to get a date from the Union, then the Copenhagen criteria would become the Ankara criteria. Erdogan reiterated that the Union should give Turkey a date to begin its accession talks, with the talks ending with full membership. /Aksam/

ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO SYRIA, SOUTH AFRICA
After next week’s crucial European Union summit where Ankara expects a date to begin its accession talks, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to continue his visits abroad. Erdogan is set to travel to Syria on Dec. 22-23 and then, accompanied by a delegation of businessmen, will visit the Republic of South Africa. /Turkiye/

ERDOGAN: “TURKEY IS THE GUARANTOR OF PEACE AND STABILITY IN ITS REGION”
Addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government’s multi-pronged foreign policy had succeeded in showing the world that Turkey is the guarantor of peace and stability in its region. “The dynamism we’ve brought to both domestic and foreign policy has given Turkey new opportunities,” he said. “Without these successful, dynamic polices, Turkey might not be the important country it is today. Turkey is a great country, and it should have the political dynamism it deserves. Our country has recently enhanced its profile on the international stage and increased its effectiveness in world politics. We’re ready to contribute to efforts aimed at establishing peace and stability worldwide.” /Star/

LEADERS HOLD SUMMIT ON EU BID
In the runup to next week’s crucial European Union summit in Brussels, national leaders chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday met at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. During the two-and-half-an-hour gathering, top officials including Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul evaluated recent developments concerning Turkey’s EU membership bid. A statement released after the meeting said that Turkey had fulfilled the EU criteria and expected a decision to be made at the Dec. 17 summit allowing it to begin accession talks soon without any preconditions. /Turkiye/

BAYKAL: “SINCE IT HAS THE RIGHT TO BEGIN TALKS, ANKARA SHOULDN’T ACCEPT ANYTHING BESIDES FULL EU MEMBERSHIP”
Addressing his party’s group meeting yesterday, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that Ankara shouldn’t accept anything except a process aimed at full European Union membership, adding that Turkey had the right to begin its EU accession talks. “Leading EU countries have recently been silent on our joining the Union if we fulfill the Copenhagen criteria,” said Baykal. “If the EU proposes open-ended talks to us, this would be a great insult.” /Star/

DYP LEADER URGES RESISTANCE TO EU PRESSURE
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar charged yesterday that “everybody” wanted something from Ankara prior to next week’s European Union summit. “Everybody is trying to get something from Turkey as if we’d been defeated in a war and were sitting down to peace negotiations,” said Agar. “The scene is incredible.” Speaking at a symposium in Istanbul, the DYP leader pointed out that Turkey didn’t have the 8-10 year history of some recent Eastern European inductees to the European Union, but rather some 1,000 years in Anatolia. Stressing that certain countries smaller even than provinces of Turkey were seeking decisions against Turkey’s interests, Agar asked, “Tell me, is there another country that would let its founding philosophy be questioned like this?” /Turkiye/

OZKOK, GONUL MEET WITH RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul yesterday met with visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov to discuss bilateral defense industry and technical military cooperation. During the meeting, joint efforts against terrorism were also discussed, with Ozkok urging Russia to add the PKK/KONGRA-GEL to its official list of terrorist organizations. For his part, Ivanov said that Moscow and Ankara were working on coordinating their anti-terror efforts. /Aksam/

TENSION GROWS BETWEEN ANKARA AND BRUSSELS OVER NEW DRAFT FOR NEXT WEEK’S EU SUMMIT
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met with visiting European Union Term President the Netherlands’ European Affairs Minister Atzo Nicolai yesterday to discuss the second draft on Turkey for next week’s summit, where EU leaders are to decide about starting Ankara’s membership talks. According to analysts, EU governments are likely to try to impose tougher conditions on entry talks with Turkey in response to demands by France, Austria and the Greek Cypriot administration. The draft spells out the benchmarks Ankara will have to meet to open and conclude its membership negotiations. Discussing this new draft, Gul rebuked Nicolai, charging that the EU seems to have ignored Ankara’s objections to the first, widely leaked draft. “Our reaction to the first draft was clear,” said Gul. “The text should have been modified in line with our demands. I think the EU leaders are just sitting and listening to Ankara’s views but taking no action on them. This is unacceptable.” For his part, Nicolai said that he was listening carefully to Gul’s views, which called “very useful.” In addition, Gul reiterated that the ultimate goal of the negotiations must be Turkey’s full membership, and that recognizing Greek Cyprus cannot be a precondition to starting the talks. He also rejected alternative formulas to membership such as “privileged partnership.” In related news, Turkish officials are complaining that the EU is piling on new conditions as the deadline for the landmark decision looms closer. /Hurriyet/

EP DISCUSSES TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID
A rational analysis must be conducted of Turkey’s status, European Parliament President Joseph Borrell yesterday told an international conference on “Turkey and the European Union: Reasons for a Historic Choice.” The two-day meeting in Brussels, convened at the initiative of Italy’s Transnational Radical Party (TRP), focused on key issues in the runup to next week’s pivotal EU summit. The two sides “don’t know each other well,” said Borrell. “Therefore, for the time being, we cannot say that Turkey belongs in Europe. I hope this will change in the future.” He also stressed that even if Turkey’s economy grows at a rate twice the EU average, in 40 years the nation’s per capita income would still be only 7% of its possible fellow EU members. For his part, Daniel Gross, director of the European Policy Study Center, noted that annual burden of Turkey’s membership on the EU budget cannot exceed 20 billion euros. In addition, EP Greens Party group leader Daniel Cohen-Bendit cautioned that nobody should expect an easy negotiations process, underlining that Turkey is an exceptional country. /Sabah/

DUTCH PM BALKENENDE: “ANKARA RECOGNIZING GREEK CYPRUS IS A MUST FOR BEGINNING ITS EU TALKS”
European Union Term President the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende yesterday met with his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis to discuss Turkey’s European Union accession talks. During their meeting, Balkenende said that Turkey needed to take steps to recognize Greek Cyprus before the Dec. 17 EU summit. "Solving the Cyprus problem is not part of the Copenhagen criteria, but we all want to take steps which could lead to start improving the situation," Balkenende told reporters after their meeting, as quoted by AFP. He added that Turkey extending its EU customs union pact to Greek Cyprus would be a "significant" step in the right direction. /Cumhuriyet/

THE NETHERLANDS ADDS PKK TO OFFICIAL TERRORIST LIST
The government of current European Union Term President the Netherlands yesterday decided to add the terrorist group PKK to its official list of terrorist organizations. The Dutch Cabinet agreed to outlaw and seize the assets of all terrorist organizations listed by the European Union. The banned organizations will not be allowed to operate under different names. Previously the Dutch government had failed to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group, even after the European Union put the group on its official list. /Turkiye/

GREEK FM SPOKESMAN: “THERE’S A REMOTE POSSIBILITY THAT TURKEY WON’T GET A DATE FOR TALKS”
Though remote, there is still the possibility that the European Union will not give Ankara a date for accession talks at its summit next week, cautioned Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos yesterday. Speaking at a press conference, Koumoutsakos reiterated Athens’ support for Turkey’s EU bid, adding that it was important that Ankara fulfill the Copenhagen criteria to begin its talks. /Cumhuriyet/

KARZAI USHERS IN NEW ERA FOR AFGHANISTAN
After taking his oath of office, Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai yesterday took up his duties as the country’s first elected president. Dozens of foreign officials attended Karzai’s swearing-in ceremony in Kabul, with Turkey represented by State Minister Besir Atalay. Addressing the ceremony, Karzai vowed to make the fight against terrorism and drug smuggling his priorities. /Turkiye/