Mavi Boncuk: EU and "ahde vefa" [pacta sunt servanda]

EU and “ahde vefa”

The recommendation adopted by the European Commission on July 15 2009 allows the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia with biometric passports to enter the Schengen area visa-free from January 2010
Mavi Boncuk |

Pacta sunt servanda L./Ahde vefa TR /agreements must be kept ENG., is a basic principle of civil law and of international law.

( EU must explain this part to Turkey)

In its most common sense, the principle refers to private contracts, stressing that contained clauses are law between the parties, and implies that non-fulfilment of respective obligations is a breach of the pact. The general principle of correct behaviour in commercial praxis ? and implies the bona fide ? is a requirement for the efficacy of the whole system, so the eventual disorder is sometimes punished by the law of some systems even without any direct penalty incurred by any of the parties.

EU Places Early Member Candidates at Head of Line, Snubbing Turkey

from Kamil Pasha by Jenny White

The EU lifted visa restrictions Saturday for citizens from Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, even though these are in the early stages of the EU membership process, while not extending this Schengen privilege to Turkey, which began accession talks in 2005 and has opened 11 out of 35 chapters in its membership negotiations. Turkey protested and has asked to be included in the Schengen regime, pointing out that, of the Balkan states affected, only Macedonia has attained the status of EU candidate. Serbia has yet to submit a formal application and its entry has been stalled due to its failure to arrest ex-Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who has been charged with war crimes in the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo.

Trust in EU drops in Turkey: Survey [ WORLD BULLETIN- TURKEY NEWS, WORLD NEWS ]

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"EU regrets…"

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs ...

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and EU commissineer Olhi Rehn give a press conference at the end of the session of the EU General Affairs & External Relations Council in Brussels. European foreign ministers criticised Turkey for failing to deal normally with Cyprus.(AFP/Georges Gobet)

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Finally an official EU center in Istanbul, Fitch increases Turkey's ratings, Dutch MPs cancel trip

The new EU Center in Beşiktaş. DHA photo
The new EU Center in Beşiktaş. DHA photo.
The EU Center will be jointly facilitated by the Turkish Ministry of State?s EU General Secretariat and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality?s EU Affairs Department. VIA

jennywhiteistanbulmetrotaksim2.jpg

Istanbul Metro Station, Taksim: Turkish Conquest of Constantinople. Photo by Jenny White

(click here for the full NY Times article). FOUND IN: Ottomania: The Empire Strikes Back
Dutch MPs cancel trip to Turkey | Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Disappointment in Turkey over cancelled trip

Turkish MPs are disappointed the Dutch parliament has cancelled a fact-finding mission about the country’s wishes to join the European Union, the NRC reports on Thursday.

Wilders and Turkey?s anti-democratization camp

by KLAUS JURGENS

Foresight analysis measures the potential impacts of foreign and domestic policy actions. For the purpose of writing this column I have chosen a number of Dutch and Turkish actors as part of a simulation exercise, and without meaning it to be derogatory in any way, have put them into a grid system of four adjacent boxes.

BB+ for Turkey

from Mavi Boncuk by M.A.M

ASSETS
* Thanks to economic growth and tight fiscal policy, since the 2001 financial crisis, public sector debt has come down to manageable levels..
* Reforms and restructuring have strengthened the banking sector.
* Economic growth rests on more solid foundations, driven by a dynamic private sector, productivity gains, and higher value-added production.
* The prospect of economic convergence with the European Union, demographic dynamism, and the country’s pivotal regional position tend to enhance the Turkish market’s attractiveness.
WEAKNESSES
* With its extensive external financing needs, the highest of all emerging countries, Turkey remains very dependent on capital markets.
* The sharp rise of foreign currency debt in the private sector has increased its exposure to exchange rate risk.
* The antagonism between the government and militant Kemalists remains a recurring source of instability.

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CHP's views on the Kurdish Question

Main opposition party, CHP, has recently opened up an office in Brussels. Some thought it as a good sign that finally CHP would actually support the EU process. There has not been any positive signs though. In the mean time, Brussels office sends email-bulletins. The last one was about CHP’s views on the Kurdish Question. EU leadership proves to be more and more naive and I guess in this respect good, abstract but without substance statements may have an impact on EU public. If only ignores the fact that CHP triggers more nationalist hysteria than nationalist MHP does…Below, there is also a roundup on the EU-TR relations and TR’s Foreign Policy moves…

CHP VIEWS AND PROPOSALS ON THE KURDISH QUESTION

The Turkish Parliament debated the government?s initiative on the Kurdish question on November 10th and 13th.

Background: In 1991, the first proposal of law in Turkey on the abolishment of all obstacles to the use of the Kurdish language was a social-democratic initiative. It was signed and introduced by Mr Deniz Baykal and his colleagues. In 2002, during the rule of the coalition government (Social-Democrats-Liberals-Nationalists) several reforms were adopted to allow the teaching and broadcasting in Kurdish. Recently, the Turkish government declared its intention to implement a new reform on the ethnic issues without making public its proposal. CHP responded in reminding its previous comprehensive reports on the Kurdish question and its very recent concrete proposals.

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Turkey seems to have officially recognized Iraqi Kurdistan…

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu releases a white ...

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu releases a white pigeon during the opening of the new Turkish Consulate in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad October 31, 2009. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly

Turkey: Time to Rebuild Middle East

by USAK

Source: Turkish Daily Mail
Date: Saturday, 31 October 2009 0:24
Tags: Turkey and Middle East, Middle East, Kurd, Kurdish, Iraq
——————————————————————————–

ARBIL – Turkey extended a regional peace drive to Iraqi Kurds when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with top Kurdish officials in a landmark visit to Arbil.

?It is time for Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis to rebuild the Middle East. Therefore, it is time for everyone to take brave steps,? Davutoglu told a joint press conference with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani late on Friday. Barzani praised Davutoğlu’s visit, saying it is even more significant now as the Middle East is passing through such a sensitive time.
Davutoğlu’s visit to Arbil, the first by a Turkish foreign minister, is a sign that a taboo maintained in Turkish foreign policy until recently is no longer in place.

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani (R) holds a joint conference ...

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani (R) holds a joint conference with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, October 30, 2009. Picture taken October 30, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

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Foreign Policy Moods as of Thursday morning: Super with Armenia, getting better with Azerbaijan and slightly better with Israel

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ...
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the Parliament to inform lawmakers on Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. Turkey’s government faced stiff opposition in parliament on Wednesday over its landmark agreement to improve ties with Armenia by establishing diplomatic relations and opening their sealed border. Davutoglu also explained that Turkey, which shares ethnic and cultural bonds with Azerbaijan, wants a peaceful settlement to the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. an Armenian-occupied enclave in Azerbaijan that has been a center of regional tensions.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Judge Goldstone advises Israel to come to grips with the substance of the report

“In Gaza, I was surprised and shocked by the destruction and misery there. I had not expected it. I did not anticipate that the IDF would have targeted civilians and civilian objects. I did not anticipate seeing the vast destruction of the economic infrastructure of Gaza including its agricultural lands, industrial factories, water supply and sanitation works. These are not military targets. I have not heard or read any government justification for this destruction.

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"'Privileged partnership' is an insult"

EurActiv.com – Turkey’s chief negotiator: ‘Privileged partnership’ is an insult | EU – European Information on Enlargement

Posters are seen at a small demonstration organized by France's ...

Posters are seen at a small demonstration organized by France’s far-right National Front party to protest the lighting of the Eiffel Tower in the red and white colours of Turkey’s flag as part of the “Season of Turkey” events in Paris October 8, 2009. Poster at left reads, “Shame on the Partnership of France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe”. Poster at right reads, “With the National Front Party, Defend our National Colours” with the Eiffel Tower in the Blue, White, Red colours of France’s flag. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

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Membership by 2015?

That’s a Foreign Ministry hope or fantasy. I am not too pessimistic about the EU membership process but it is a bit early. Super-slowness is the rule and targetting 2015 is to fasten the process which could disorient all the parties:)
Ah well, while EU membership process is a little peripherialized in the current state of Turkish foreign policy making, still it makes news, still happenings. A huge roundup on related issues:
People gather under The Eiffel Tower, lighted in the colours ...

People gather under The Eiffel Tower, lighted in the colours of Turkey as part of events marking the “Season of Turkey in France”, in Paris October 6, 2009. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Turkish FM: ?Turkey seeks EU membership by 2015?

Turkey is counting on joining the European Union by 2015 to bolster both its and the EU?s global role, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Friday. ?Even 2015 is too late, not only for us, it will be too late for the EU as well,? Davutoğlu said at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.

The Eiffel Tower is seen lighted in the colours of Turkey as ...

The Eiffel Tower is seen lighted in the colours of Turkey as part of events marking the ‘Season of Turkey in France’, in Paris October 6, 2009. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

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Patriot missiles and more on Turkish foreign policy

Patriot issue came out of blue and we will see where it will lead to.. Yigal’s substantive piece and a more provocative link in addition to other issues in Turkish foreign policy..
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he speaks ...

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he speaks about Turkey’s global priorities to a gathering at Princeton University Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Princeton. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Patriot Games

by Yigal Schleifer

There’s a certain feeling of Cold War déjà vu in Turkey these days. Back then, NATO ally Turkey was seen as a front line state in the standoff against a dangerous nuclear power and was even home to American missiles (the intermediate range Jupiters, quietly removed as part of the deal made to end the Cuban missile crisis). Cut to 2009, when western ally Turkey is again being viewed by some as a front-line defense against a (potential) nuclear power — this time around Iran — and might soon be home to an American-made long-range missile defense system.

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