MILLIYET- Columnist Hasan Cemal recounts his impressions from the panel meetings at the World Economic Forum in New York. A summary of his column is as follows:
One of the most-discussed topics at the panels at this year's World Economic Forum was Turkish-European relations. In previous years, this subject didn't attract much attention. During a brainstorm meeting regarding the future of Europe there were 10 people, including Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski, a political science professor from the London School of Economics and another professor from California's Berkeley University, and they discussed relations between Turkey and Europe. When I pointed out to them the fact that the EU wouldn't accept the candidacy of a country it didn't really want in the Union or invite it to their Convention and that despite this fact, former French President Giscard d'Estaing, who is chairman of the upcoming Convention, in his first speech as chairman stated that Turkey didn't belong to Europe. Polish President Kwasniewski responded to this by saying that President d'Estaing had only one vote, and that Turkey must be admitted into the Union. A young Finnish philosopher said that if there was not going to be a clash of civilizations, if this theory was untrue, Turkey should take its place within Europe. At another table, Finnish Prime Minister Lipponen said that Turkey must take its place within Europe and added that Europe was not about geography but rather values. If Turkey adopts EU values such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the market economy, it must be admitted into the Union. Clearly Turkey still has homework to do regarding the values Prime Minister Lipponen enumerated. The road to the EU won't be opened until we complete that work. However, there is another problem which must be solved, namely the Cyprus issue. The problem must be solved before the end of the year. Certainly, the Turkish Cypriots are responsible for reaching an agreement. The Greek Cypriots also have significant responsibilities regarding the issue. There are still some suspicions on the Turkish side. Some say say that it serves no purpose to make compromises on Cyprus as the EU will never admit us anyhow. No one, including local and foreign journalists who have been following the issue for years, easily believes that the problem will be solved. The fragility of the situation in Cyprus is obvious. Therefore, the responsibility of all concerned and namely that of our coalition leaders Ecevit, Bahceli and Yilmaz has historical importance. Turkey is waiting for its coalition leaders to complete our reforms for democratization and to facilitate a solution for Cyprus.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION