This weekend marked the sixth gathering by the sea in İstanbul, again highlighting increased hopes for the accession process. Unfortunately, Paker was absent. He is going through rigorous treatment in the US, and we all hope he recovers quickly.
Titled “Turkey and the EU: Regaining Momentum” this time, jointly organized by TESEV, the British Council and the EU Delegation in Turkey, the meeting, as usual, was mainly off the record, under the strict Chatham House Rule. But the parts open to the press and comments made by participants included some news.
The first came from Egemen Bağış, Turkey's chief negotiator with the EU. He said Turkey will open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels if promises made to Turkey on lifting the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots are kept. “Greek Cypriots do trade with Turkish Cypriots. They enjoy the delicious oranges of [the Turkish Republic of] Northern Cyprus [KKTC], but they don't want the other EU countries to trade with Turkish Cypriots. Why shouldn't a German enjoy the same privilege? Why should a German not be able to enjoy Turkish Cypriot oranges?” said Bağış, adding that until 1987 Turkish ports were open to Greek Cypriot shipping. Bağış stated that opening the ports does not mean recognition of Greek Cyprus and is thus not a “big diplomatic deal.”
This means that direct trade with any member of the EU and the KKTC will be sufficient for Turkey to open the ports. This statement may not echo well within the EU but is a clear signal that a rational flexibility will be helpful for the parts talking to each other in Cyprus.
Bağış, also responding to a question on whether there are any expectations for the new Greek government on the Cyprus issue, said a brand new momentum is now within grasp since now there are governments determined to attempt a Greek-Turkish rapprochement again, and this will be encouraging to the Cyprus talks.
Pierre Lellouche, France's minister for European affairs and a longtime friend of Bağış, was careful not to raise hopes for a change in his government's stand on Turkey's accession, but the remarkable part was in what he did not say: He avoided, deliberately, using the term “privileged partnership” in all his statements. The news is that there seems to be a very rational “understanding” between Ankara and Paris that the term will not be used at all. This may not be a pleasing sign for Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany.
Olli Rehn, the EU commissioner for enlargement, was in a relaxed mood. The progress report has been welcomed by the Turkish government and hailed as “balanced, well prepared and fair.” When I conveyed what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said about it (a positive comment on his way from Baghdad to Ankara) to Rehn, he was even more relieved.
The commission should be. The most commendable part, perhaps, in the report is what people discussed at coffee breaks and dinners, namely the part on what it called “the alleged criminal network Ergenekon.”
The commission, after some hesitation in the past year's report, this time puts it in a clear and fair context, underlining the vital importance of the case in the milieu of democratization. The following phrases should be a guide for all those who have been targeted by the systematic disinformation that watered down the truth and the deadly nature of the case.
“This is the first case in Turkey to probe into a coup attempt and the most extensive investigation ever on an alleged criminal network aiming at destabilizing democratic institutions. Furthermore, for the first time a former chief of staff testified voluntarily as a witness. Concerns have been raised about effective judicial guarantees for all the suspects.”
“This case is an opportunity for Turkey to strengthen confidence in the proper functioning of its democratic institutions and the rule of law. It is important that proceedings in this context fully respect the due process of law, in particular the rights of the defendants. Turkey still needs to bring its legislation on political parties in line with European standards.”
This year's Bosphorus Conference includes the telling description “regaining momentum.” We may all be thankful that the vigorous conduct of the Ergenekon case -- however troubling as some related procedures may have been -- makes it possible.
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