Turkey, Germany summon envoys in row over EU talks, protests

11 years ago | Posted in: Latest Politics News | 597 Views

Ankara and Berlin summoned each other’s ambassadors on Friday for tit-for-tat reproaches in an escalating row over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s criticism of Ankara’s handling of anti-government protests and over remarks made by Egemen Ba???, Turkey’s European Union Affairs minister, concerning Merkel.

Berlin responded on Friday by summoning the Turkish envoy to the German foreign ministry – and Turkey retaliated.

Barring a last-minute change of heart by Germany, the EU looks set early next week to postpone or cancel plans to open a new “chapter” in Turkey’s membership talks next Wednesday.

Such a move would cast doubt on the future of Turkey’s long-running negotiations to join the EU and a senior Turkish official has said it would draw a “strong reaction” from Ankara.

Ba??? accused Merkel on Thursday of blocking a new chapter in talks on Turkey’s accession to the EU because she was “looking for domestic political material for her elections.”

“If Mrs. Merkel looks into it, she will see that those who mess around with Turkey do not have an auspicious end,” he added.

Turkey is in a position to tell some European Union countries to “get lost” if it has to, said Ba???.

Ba??? criticized European countries that oppose moving forward with Turkey’s bid to join the EU. “Turkey doesn’t need the EU, the EU needs Turkey. If we have to, we could tell them ‘Get lost, kid!’ Yet in the last three years, Turkey has not stepped back from its intention to join the EU,” he said.

Many EU countries support the opening of more negotiations with Turkey next week on its long path to membership. They argue that Turkey’s fast-growing economy, youthful population and diplomatic clout would bolster the EU.

But Germany has criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s forceful response to weeks of anti-government protests and appears to be refusing to agree to open a new negotiation area, potentially the first such step in three years.

Merkel’s conservatives oppose Turkish EU membership in their platform for September’s election, saying it would “overburden” the bloc because of the country’s size and economy, though Merkel has stopped short of calling a halt to accession talks.

“Neither the chancellor nor the government are questioning the accession process in any way. We are not talking about ‘whether’, just about ‘how’, to continue the accession process,” German deputy government spokesman Georg Streiter said.

According to Spiegel Online, the German Foreign Ministry summoned Turkish Ambassador to Germany Hüseyin Avni Karsl?o?lu on Friday, but what the ambassador and German officials discussed in the meeting was not immediately made available.

Foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told Reuters that the Turkish minister’s comments were “unacceptable” and that Ankara’s envoy to Berlin had been summoned for consultations in the early afternoon.

Turkey reacted by summoning the German envoy to Ankara, with a senior Turkish official telling Reuters: “We want to convey our views on recent developments.”

As the tension between Berlin and Ankara increased, Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said it was not the moment to close the door on Turkey, but she made no direct reference to Germany.

“From this perspective, we must bring dynamism to the negotiating process and avoid giving into a knee-jerk reaction that hardens positions with regard to the line adopted by Turkish authorities,” she said in a statement.

“If we make the mistake of complicating Ankara’s road towards Europe, tomorrow we will have a Europe that is less credible on the international scene.”

A senior Turkish diplomat, who spoke to Today’s Zaman on the condition of anonymity, stated that it was still not clear for what reason the ambassador was called for the meeting, indicating it would not be appropriate to draw hasty conclusions before the results of the meeting are announced.

Germany’s Peschke said Turkish accession talks had been held up for unspecified “technical reasons” rather than concerns about the crackdown, adding that the Dutch shared the German view. Chapter 22 of the talks deals with regional politics.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said this week he would like to see discussion of the chapters 23 and 24 that deal with civil rights, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly. These have been blocked by other EU member states because of concerns about Turkey’s record on human and civil rights.

A source close to the foreign minister told Spiegel Online, “Westerwelle is disappointed and irritated about the language used, which is anything but European.”

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official slammed the German position regarding Turkey’s EU membership talks as “election maneuvering” and told Today’s Zaman earlier this week that Turkey will not “beg anyone” to join the EU.

Chancellor Merkel last week said she was “appalled” to see the Turkish security forces’ “overly harsh” crackdown on the protests.

“I regret that the Turkish government did not react with dialogue and de-escalation to the protests but with an aggravation in rhetoric and actions,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in an interview published late last week.

The European Parliament last week sharply criticized what it called the disproportionate force used by police against demonstrators, and lawmakers scrapped a visit to Turkey planned for this week. Erdo?an reacted angrily to the EU parliament’s criticism, but officials from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said on Wednesday that Turkey still wants to join the bloc.

Germany itself remains a potential obstacle to Turkish EU membership. Merkel and her conservative party have long advocated a vaguely defined “privileged partnership” instead of full membership, though Westerwelle’s Free Democrats — her junior coalition partners — are less skeptical.

source: http://www.todayszaman.com

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