TURKEY REJECTS "PRIVILEGED PARTNERSHIP," CHIEF NEGOTIATOR BAGIS REITERATES
There is no "privileged partnership" alternative to European Union membership in the EU acquis, Turkey's Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis said yesterday, branding such an offer an "insult" to Turkey. Speaking to reporters after meeting in Istanbul with Steven Vanackere, the foreign minister of current EU President Belgium, Bagis said Turkey "will never accept (privileged partnership) in any way." The proposal, a formula falling short of full EU membership for Turkey, was first introduced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2004. Stating that Turkey first applied for EU membership in 1959 and has been negotiating since 2004, Bagis said Turkey has successfully managed to open 13 out of 33 chapters and is working hard to open the remainder. "If EU regulations changed, different membership alternatives were developed, and several member countries decided to alter their membership status, then this offer could be made to Turkey," he explained. "However, it is insulting to offer Turkey something like privileged partnership at this point. No country suggests this to Turkey on official platforms. Over the past year, no leader used this phrase during discussions on Turkey. Turkey-EU integration benefits both sides." Saying that Belgium considers Turkey a strategic EU partner, Vanackere, for his part, reiterated that there is no such thing as "privileged partnership" in the EU acquis. Explaining that countries that start negotiations aim for full membership and that membership talks are open-ended, he said the ultimate goal is membership. "If a candidate country lives up to its obligations, it can become a member of the EU. We also support this," he added. /Today's Zaman/
AMID ISRAELI THREATS OF WITHDRAWAL, TURKEY GIVES FULL SUPPORT TO UN PROBE OF FLOTILLA RAID
Turkey is giving full support to the UN probe into the Israeli raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla despite Tel Aviv's threats that it could consider withdrawing if its soldiers are called to testify. "Whatever the UN panel requests of us, we'll provide," a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official said yesterday. "We demanded this commission. We have been supporting the work of the secretary-general from the very beginning." Although Turkey has been confident, the mandate of the four-member UN panel remains vague. Regardless, the probe is not a criminal investigation, meaning it is unknown whether the findings will satisfy Ankara, which is pressing for an apology and compensation from Tel Aviv. At the probe's first hearing on Tuesday its parameters were discussed, officials said. According to the UN, the panel is tasked with reviewing reports of national investigations; requesting clarification and additional information; examining and identifying the facts, circumstances and context of the incident; and recommending ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future. The panel will submit an initial progress report by mid-September and a final report by next February. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denied Monday a "behind-the-scenes" agreement with Israel that the panel would not summon the country's soldiers to testify, and UN spokesman Martin Nesirky didn't rule out the possibility that the panel could seek to talk to or obtain information directly from Israeli soldiers, as well as officials from either side. But the committee appears set to approach the relevant governments should it seek to get clarification or data from any of the actors in the incident, according to Israeli reports, citing official sources. While there is no written agreement between Israel and the UN, there appears to be an important verbal understanding that the panel will not impose itself on the governments but will instead give authority to them. Currently, all the issues were left vague in order to overcome obstacles in the Turkish-Israeli relationship, which descended into crisis in the wake of the flotilla incident, according to diplomatic observers. Both Turkey and Israel have established national commissions to investigate the May 31 incident that left nine activists dead, including eight Turks and one US citizen of Turkish descent. /Hurriyet Daily News/
MAJOR REORGANIZATION OF FOREIGN MINISTRY SET TO TAKE EFFECT
Before its summer recess, Parliament passed a landmark law introducing major changes to the organizational structure of the Foreign Ministry, set to take effect as of today. Under the new law, the Foreign Ministry will be restructured from top to bottom in line with the requirements of Turkey's more active, multidimensional and multidirectional foreign policy in a globalized world. Turkish ambassadors will no longer represent only the president but also the government, and will be accountable to both. The ministry currently has a representative office in Istanbul but will soon open such offices in four provinces in Turkey's north, south, east and west. New directorates will be set up to deal with matters previously relegated to secondary importance, apparently inappropriately. Under the former regulations, diplomats had to be 45 years old to qualify for ambassadorships, but now diplomats who lack seniority but are at least 35 can be appointed as ambassadors to countries in various parts of the world, such as Africa. Career diplomats who haven't taken the title of ambassador now can also be appointed to foreign representative offices as ambassadors. The law gives the ministry's administrative officers the opportunity to have diplomatic careers, making it possible for them to reach the post of consul. The bill also introduces new incentives and rights to the ministry staff. /Sabah/
BABACAN NAMED TO LANDMARK UN ENVIRONMENT PANEL
Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan has officially been picked as a member of a new United Nations panel on global sustainability by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The 21-member High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability will hold discussions and deliberations to tackle the global challenges of poverty and climate change while figuring out ways to ensure that development occurs in an environmentally friendly way. The panel brings together representatives from government, the private sector and civil society in countries rich and poor and will be co-chaired by Finnish President Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma. The panel will also discuss ways to reach the UN's low carbon emission targets. "I have asked the panel to think big," UN Secretary-General Ban said in New York on Monday, unveiling the panel in a press conference. "The time for narrow agendas and narrow thinking is over." The panel will have to deliver its final report by the end of next year ahead of a 2012 UN conference on sustainable development in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "We need to promote low carbon growth and strengthen our resilience to the impacts of climate change," said Ban. "We need to address the interlinked global challenges of poverty, hunger, water, energy security and sanitation. In short, we need a blueprint for a more livable, prosperous and sustainable future for all." /Today's Zaman/
SCRAPPING VISAS AND POLICY OF ZERO PROBLEMS WITH NEIGHBORS BOOST TURKEY'S TRADE VOLUME
Turkey's policy of improving trade ties with neighboring and surrounding countries to recover export losses from shrinking markets in Europe due to the global economic crisis is paying off with the country's soaring global trade volume. As part of its policy of zero problems with neighboring and regional countries, in recent years Turkey signed agreements with 61 countries to mutually scrap visa requirements besides inking free trade deals with many countries. Thanks to these efforts, Turkey's exports rose 14.9 percent, reaching nearly $55 billion in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. The government hopes to boost Turkey's exports to $170 billion by 2015 to get a 1 percent share from the total world trade volume. Turkish businesspeople are continuing their search for new markets to ensure that Turkey's exports hit $500 billion in 2023, the centenary of the republic. To this end, Turkish entrepreneurs are seeking visa-free travel to especially EU member countries and countries in Africa and the Gulf region. Turkey has long been urging the EU to give a green light to Turkish nationals travelling to EU member countries without visas. Highlighting that the EU has scrapped visa requirements with Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro even though have yet to even start accession negotiations with the Union, Turkey, a country that has made great progress in its EU accession talks, is asking for fair treatment in the visa matter. Stepping up efforts to lift the visa barrier to Turkish citizens wanting to travel to EU member countries, the government has decided to shift to biometric passports, and made significant progress in readmission agreements with various EU countries. /Turkiye/