COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

TURKEY 2009 PROGRESS REPORT

accompanying the
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2009-2010

And another roundup on Turkey’s foreign policy issues and its place in Europe:

What is Europe’s angle on Ergenekon?

The European Commission’s 2009 progress report states that Turkey is investigating a coup attempt for the first time in its history.

Turkey?s ?à la carte? approach to EU reforms

Turkey’s annual report card from the European Commission will be published today. The last two were pretty unimpressive, with wave after wave of domestic crises bringing the reform process to a virtual standstill.

EU report tells Turkey to improve press freedom – Media : europa, europe | euronews

Progress report and the army

The 2009 European Union progress report once again criticizes the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). But if we were to put our hand on our heart and make an assessment, we could say that Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ has been relatively more sensitive than his predecessors in keeping a distance between himself and politics.

Turkish-Israeli Ties to Improve Only After Progress in Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks

Les enjeux régionaux du rapprochement turco-arménien

Le Monde (France), 12 octobre 2009

Gaïdz Minassian

Si les Parlements arménien et turc ratifient les protocoles de normalisation des relations bilatérales, signés samedi 10 octobre en Suisse par leur gouvernement, le Caucase du Sud sera traversé par de nouvelles dynamiques qui pourraient le reconfigurer dans son ensemble.

Gaza War Still Strains Turkish-Israeli Relations

Meeting in 2 Nations, Turks and Syrians Signal Better Ties – NYTimes.com

A New Era in Turkish-French Relations? – The Jamestown Foundation

Turkey and Syria Signal Improved Relations

Turquie express pour Sarkozy

Libération (France), 12 octobre 2009, p. 31

Vincent Noce

Expositions . Le chef de l?Etat a fait le minimum syndical, contraint à l?inauguration de ?De Byzance à Istanbul?.

Douze minutes

Montre en main, c?est le temps qu?il a fallu, vendredi, à Nicolas Sarkozy pour faire le tour de l?exposition ?De Byzance à Istanbul?, qu?il inaugurait avec son homologue turc, Abdullah Gül. Quant à celle sur Smyrne, l?ancienne Izmir, qui aurait dû s?ouvrir le même jour au Louvre, elle a dû être retardée de deux semaines en raison d?accrocs franco-turcs. Nicolas Sarkozy s?est montré particulièrement indélicat envers la commissaire, Nazan Ölçer, en refusant qu?elle commente la visite, au prétexte qu?il fallait lui parler en français.

Arab Press Views of Turkey?s EU Accession

By Ghaith al-Faqih
December 30, 2005

When the European Union (EU) initiated accession talks with Turkey in October, some Western commentators suggested that a major underlying issue is the relationship between the West and the Muslim world. How is this issue viewed in the Arab press, and what significance is seen for the relationship between Europe and Arab nations? The following is a collection of statements about Turkey?s EU accession from the Arab press.

Turkish Season in France | De Byzance à Istanbul

Dutch, Turkish ministers open investment agency in Turkey

The Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade Frank Heemskerk and the Turkish Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Çağlayan met Monday in Istanbul for the opening of the Netherlands Foreign Investments Agency.