EU foreign ministers met yesterday to discuss their vexed relationship with Turkey, a nation that is becoming a key player on the global stage even as talks to join the bloc languish.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the talks at a palace in Brussels aim to recognize that even though Turkey has not joined the EU, it already is “a partner with us in lots of issues around the world.”
Negotiations for Turkey to join the 27-nation EU have made little progress since starting in 2005, with France and Germany both expressing opposition to Turkey’s bid. Ankara’s relationship with the divided island of Cyprus, an EU member, is a key stumbling block.
Cyprus was split into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of a union with Greece.
Even as the accession process drags on, the bloc is keen to work with Turkey on issues like the Mideast peace process, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Bosnia, where Ankara wields influence.
Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb called Turkey “one of the top five countries in the world today” in terms of foreign policy.
“Arguably, today Turkey is more influential in the world than any of our member states together or separately,” Stubb said. “It has a great influence in the Middle East, in the African Horn in the Persian Gulf, in Iran. It’s a truly global player and we need to work together with Turkey right now on foreign and security policy.”
Yesterday’s talks, preceded by a working breakfast with nations bidding to join the EU, were informal and would not produce any solid policy decisions.
Ashton, who held talks with Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday night, called the discussions a chance to “chew over” the relationship between the EU and Turkey.
The talks will “take us further in thinking about how do we collaborate with Turkey,” Ashton said.
As membership talks have dragged on, Turkey’s enthusiasm for EU membership has eroded under internal tension, European skepticism and a dispute over divided Cyprus. Key European leaders, in turn, fear an influx of migrants, worry about human rights and wonder about admitting a huge Muslim nation into a 27-nation bloc that has struggled to integrate its own Muslim minorities.
Yesterday’s talks came before Turks vote today in a referendum on changes to the Constitution that was crafted in the wake of Turkey’s 1980 military coup, which was marked by torture and other abuses.
The vote is on a package of 26 reforms that the government says will strengthen democracy and bring the 1982 Constitution more in line with European norms — a key plank in the nation’s EU bid.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
RSS