The Syria conflict has been a real concern and a major source of worries for the western world, Turkey to be in the first row. In spite of all the expectations Assad would not be able to hold on under the prevailing conditions in said country, he has not taken a step back so far. Turkey on the other hand has been given a strong push by its allies US to be in the first row but has hardly felt the support fro ...

Turkey should abide by the rules of the European Union and give up its expansionist designs, a conservative Greek Cypriot presidential candidate has said. Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News at his newly-decorated presidential election office in Nicosia, George Lilikas said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was guilty of having a “megalo idea” of expanding Turkey into a new empire with a neo-Ottomani ...

Turkey must be admitted into EU with its economic performance The Director of the Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Prof. Dr. John Van Reenen has said that credit rating organizations were "unnecessary". ISTANBUL- Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Dr. Van Reenen said that "with its fast economic growth, Turkey caught Europe and closed the gap". ...

France and Turkey share views on Assad Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius yesterday in Paris. Speaking at a joint press conference following the meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Davutoğlu, Fabius explained that they mainly discussed the situation in Syria, while also touching on the developments in Afghanistan and the Middle East, Turkey and EU relat ...

Cyprus said Monday after taking up the rotating EU presidency that it was concerned over Turkey's attitude to events in Syria but would continue to work with Ankara over the conflict. Cyprus said Monday after taking up the rotating EU presidency that it was concerned over Turkey's attitude to events in Syria but would continue to work with Ankara over the conflict. "As a country we have worries on the way T ...

Visa exemption for Turkish citizens traveling to the European Union will take effect in about 3 to 4 years, EU Minister Egemen Bağış said in Brussels a day after the bloc authorized the EU Commission to launch talks with Turkey on the issue of visa exemption. The EU minister held a one-hour meeting with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fü ...

Deposits worth up to 400 million euros have been transferred to Turkish banks as Greeks withdraw money from domestic banks, a media report says. Central banks check their ammunition before the crucial Greek vote Greeks withdrew about 800 million euros out of the banking system between May 7 and 14, according to President Karolos Papoulias.Greek depositors have moved some of the money they have withdrawn lat ...

'"MarketWatch", a blog produced by the United States' Wall Street Journal, recently published an interesting article regarding Turkey joining the euro zone. The article openly suggests that if Greece should depart the Euro zone then it would be wise to add Turkey in its place. "If Greece ends up leaving the euro zone, as the nonstop flow of "Grexit" rumors suggest might just happen Turkey should take its pl ...

Turkey and EU has officially launched the "positive agenda" in order to revive Turkey’s EU accession process. European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagıs, who launched the agenda yesterday with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stephan Fule, said May 17 would be remembered as a "turning point" in Turkey's accession into the European bloc. "Our Armenian citizens have started to perform religious cere ...

The miracle Turkish economy is lavishly praised by the EU, with particular emphasis on national growth and the curbing of public debt. Recently announced incentives also put Turkey the limelight for huge investments by multinational companies Turkey’s economy had undergone a miracle over the past ten years, especially with regard to the curbing of its public debt, according to Olli Rehn, the EU Vice Preside ...

Gül’s message for Europe Day: We can save Europe In messages delivered for ‘Europe Day’, Gül said, “Turkey could save Europe”. Meanwhile Erdoğan emphasizes his intent to join the EU. A MESSAGE TO EUROPE In his message to commemorate Europe Day, President Abdullah Gül stated: "Europe Day provides a significant occasion in which to be reminded of the commitment to the values Europe is based on such as basic r ...

United States Vice President Joe Biden expressed his disappointment that the European Union has kept the door closed to Turkey up until now and underlined that Washington’s close ally Ankara is of ‘unique importance’.Attending a donation campaign for U.S. President Barack Obama's election campaign, Joe Biden was speaking to members of the Turkish-American community when he stated, "Ankara is one of our most ...

Turkey officially called on the European Union to issue visa-free travel rights to Turkish citizens, in line with a number of European courts’ verdicts and bilateral agreements between Turkey and the EU. EU Minister Egemen Bağış has sent letters to Stefan Füle, the EU’s commissioner responsible for enlargement, Cecilia Malström, the EU’s commissioner responsible for internal affairs, Martin Schulz, the head ...

Boyner urges EU to solve visa problems with Turkey Turkish Businessmen's and Industrialists' Association (TUSIAD) Chairperson Umit Boyner yesterday called on EU to solve visa problems with Turkey, as those problems had a negative impact on daily lives of Turkish people and productivity of business life. Speaking at a conference on the G20, EU and Turkey at the European Parliament in Brussels, Boyner said, " ...

President Abdullah Gul and First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul hosted a dinner yesterday in the honor of Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus and his spouse Livia Klausova paying an official visit in Turkey. "I believe that your visit will open new horizons for our countries' exemplary cooperation," Gul said, delivering a speech at the dinner. Before the dinner, Gul said in a joint conference with his Czech counte ...

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner YILDIZ said Thursday that the justification of not opening the energy chapter to negotiations based on political reasons saddened them. Speaking at a quartet meeting with Turkey's European Union (EU) Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, European Commissioner for enlargement Stefan Fule and Commissioner for energy Guenter Ottinger in Istanbul, YILDIZ ...

The European Union has hailed a judicial reform package recently introduced by the Turkish government to address long-standing shortcomings in the Turkish judiciary. Peter Stano, spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, told Today's Zaman on Wednesday that the European Commission welcomes the intentions of the government to address a number of important obstacles to the enhancement of democ ...

Speaking at the parliamentary group of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made evaluations about economy yesterday. Erdogan said that that the euro zone expected to post negative growth rates, whereas Turkey would also continue to grow this year without throwing caution to the winds. "Some people are concerned about continuing with investments in such a critical per ...

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Thursday that had Turkey been an EU member, they would not have permitted the EU to come to this point of crisis. ANKARA- Speaking on a TV program in Davos town of Switzerland on Thursday, Babacan said that the most important item on the agenda in Davos was the economic crisis in Europe. Things in Europe are getting tougher and problems are getting bigger. Ther ...

Turkey will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) to be held in Davos after a break of three years, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan requested one minute from a moderator to finish his speech before his dramatic Jan. 29 walkout in Davos in protest of Israel's Gaza policies. EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis yesterday said on his flight from Montenegro to Lithuania that he would attend th ...

In the past (not until long ago) Turkey was only regarded as a loyal ally of the USA and known not to be very active in the world in terms of political issues. It was so to say a humble and low-profile player. After Erdoğan and his team started to take office, things have changed gradually and many opinion leaders have soon started to notice the world was to address a global player from then on. To comply w ...

Turkey wishes EU to take concrete steps and recover its economy. Turkey's deputy prime minister said on Wednesday that Turkey wished the European Union (EU) to take concrete steps and recover its economy. Ali Babacan said Turkey hoped things would become better in Europe, and noted that Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy raised its public expenditures as a measures in 2009 however Turkish government ...

France’s stance toward Ankara’s prospective EU membership has not changed despite the contrasting economic fortunes of the crisis-hit union and a dynamic Turkey, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said. “You know, my reservations have not changed. Even if we raised these reservations, in the situation of crisis, I do not think it would ease the task of Europe,” Sarkozy said in an interview French daily Le ...