"The Independent Commission to redirect focus on Turkey
EU leaders express measured approval for a new treaty, hammered out over two days of talks.chiefs 'satisfied' with treaty
David Weman in Disgraceful says "The treaty is basically the constitution minus some symbolic things (and an exemption from the Fundamental Rights for the Brits.)...
European Council
by Margot Wallström
Not even Prime Ministers can keep their appearances up totally at 04.00 in the morning : some get very, very tired, others irritated or agitated while some people manage to keep their cool through the most testing times. I was not at all surprised but pleased to see that José Manuel Barroso (after having changed shirts) belongs to the latter…
And I am sure that with the decision by the European Council 21–22 June 2007 we have created work not only for EU lawyers (who now will start scrutinising and interpreting it) but, if we wanted, also for psychologists or other professionals who are interested in the ‘human dynamics‘ involved in complex negotiations like this.
Politics is a tough game which requires also management and negotiation skills. Angela Merkel had both and deserved the success she got! She took a big risk in reviving the constitutional treaty that had been declared stone dead by so many. The German Presidency mobilised the political will from all Member States and firmly steered the process to a good result.
Yes, it is a compromise – but one that will allow everybody to return home with something they can defend and advocate. It was very important to reach an agreement on a structure and a working mechanism that will equip the EU to meet better the challenges of the 21st Century. I am very happy that climate change and energy security are in the text. The EU must look to the future and, unfortunately, these are challenges which will face us for a very long time....
Angus Reid Global Monitor: Four EU Members Oppose Turkey's Accession while Turkish support for EU: 52 percent.
The Independent Commission, which consists of nine distinguished European politicians and former statesmen, is to reactivate its work on Turkey this fall.
Minorities to choose pro-EU candidates
Turkey's Armenians, Jews and Greeks hope the elections will produce a government that will accelerate the country's march towards the European Union as they see this process as the answer to their feelings of second-class citizenship.
Champions at hiding - Turkish-German business relations
Germany’s industry is enthusiastic about its sometimes surprising Turkish experiences but remains surprisingly silent on EU politics...
THE VIEW FROM TURKEY
The text of Cengiz Çandar’s presentation at the Wilson Center European Alumni Meeting n Istanbul – Fall 2006
“The view from Turkey” could be quite a misleading title for presenting a Turkish opinion on Turkey’s EU saga, even for many in Turkey, it is rather Turkey’s EU adventure. This is humbly “a Turkish view” on that mutually adventurous road both for the Turks and the Europeans, the road of Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
Is Turkey aware of the energy trump card in hand?
by Gila BENMAYOR
Turkish nationalism and its many forms
Globalization may provide individuals with a wider range of opportunities but it also gives rise to a growing sense of insecurity, according to a study on nationalism conducted by according to a study on nationalism conducted by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV).The findings of the study were presented yesterday by TESEV that gathered the contents of the study in a book titled “The Indivisible Unity of the Nation.”As a result of this insecurity brought on by globalization, nationalism, as an ideology of the nation state, takes on new forms. In the process of transformation, nationalism can come to mean “reunification” on the level of ethnic or communal identity. Or, it can and does take on a religious meaning, as religious sources of identity compete with others.....As well, class and the split between ‘urban' or ‘rural' sources of identity compound the picture more, stretching our definition of “nationalism” to mean very different things to different people. In short, globalization has spawned an age of identity confusion which can lend itself to exploitation and manipulation. “In Turkey there are some pending identity problems that still cannot be solved,” said Etyen Mahcupyan the editor in chief of bilingual Turkish Armenian weekly Agos noting that the roots of some of these problems date back to the 19th century. According to Mahcupyan there is a mechanism that reproduces these problems and an authority that hesitates to solve them in Turkey. “But the worst is that there is a nation that keeps silent.” The study shows Turkish nationalism as one that is reproduced while being adopted in a different form. The strategy of modern secular nationalism is to gain ground in the face of globalization and to control its existing status, argues the study.
The study and the book try to unfold the issues of nationalism not contextually but as to how it is perceived and implemented by ordinary people in their daily lives on the streets, Mahcupyan stated. The book is dedicated to slain Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, former editor in chief of Agos, who was gunned down by an ultra nationalist youth last January. The study was conducted by sociology academics Dr. Ferhat Kentel from Istanbul Bilgi University and associate professor Meltem Ahıska from Bosporus University together with Fırat Genç, who has been studying social movements and daily life sociology.
TSK indirectly slams Arınç, Gül for uproar on Hudson's scenario
The General Staff indirectly criticized officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday for associating the military with the controversial scenario discussed at the United -based Hudson Institute last week.
Cengiz Çandar: Scenarios in Washington, facts in Ankara
