German gov't defends herself: ‘Media view of Turkish-EU relations is misleading’
German Ambassador in Ankara Eckart Kuntz said that the recent problems in Turkish-German relations are due to misunderstandings and misinformation.
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| German Ambassador Eckart Kuntz |
Speaking at a press conference, Ambassador Kuntz claimed that Turkey's EU membership negotiations are on track, and yet the media representation of the level of relations does not present the actual truth. Recalling that a new chapter in negotiations had been recently opened, Ambassador Kuntz reiterated his hopes that three more chapters will be opened before the German presidency of the EU ends in June.
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Ambassador Kuntz said that the fact that Turkey was not invited to the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome was misrepresented in the Turkish media. "Only the 27 member states were invited, and there was no ill-intent towards Turkey," said the ambassador. Kuntz said that he was sorry that Foreign Minister Gül would not able to join the Gymlich-type informal meeting. Kuntz said he believed this was due to the heavy agenda of the foreign minister.
The German ambassador also clarified some recent news about the cup that Merkel gave to French President Jacques Chirac as a gift. The cup had a motif of Napoleon Bonaparte and bore the date 1799. An article in respected UK daily the Financial Times asserted that Merkel was referring to Napoleon's unsuccessful attack on Egypt and Palestine of that date. Egypt and Palestine were Ottoman lands at that time, and the FT claimed that this symbolic gift was hinting that Germany and France were forming an anti-Turkey camp within the EU. Ambassador Kuntz asserted that the motif on the cup was not Napoleon himself, but rather a flower motif and the date was referring not to Napoleon's eastern campaign, but to the fact that France became a European empire in that year. Uniting Europe under one single authority was Napoleon's dream, and on 1799 he came closest to realizing that dream.
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Well, in the two most thorny issues here (no invitation to the 50th year party and the gift cup) I don't really believe there is misinformation. It is already a factual information that only 27 members were invited but the reason why 2 negotiating candidates were not invited is not available in Mr. Kuntz's statements...
In the mean time, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has declined an invitation to attend an EU meeting Saturday, but officials denied that his decision was linked to disappointment over the bloc's failure to invite Turkey to its 50th anniversary celebrations in Berlin last week.
In other developments:
Napoleon in Alexandria and Turkey’s EU dream by Ibrahim Kalin
Cyprus and the EU: what matters is perception by Hans A.H.C. de Wit
The Economist: Germany and its Muslims; Soft on suffering
Spiegel online: GERMAN JUSTICE FAILURES;Paving the Way for a Muslim Parallel Society
A recent ruling in Germany by a judge who cited the Koran underscores the dilemma the country faces in reconciling Western values with a growing immigrant population. A disturbing number of rulings are helping to create a parallel Muslim world in Germany that is welcoming to Islamic fundamentalists.
