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TURKEY-EU PARLIAMENTARY MEETING DELAYED A MONTH AMID COOL RELATIONS
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 11 2015
ANKARA
A planned joint parliamentary meeting between Turkey and EU
representatives was postponed for a month due to lawmakers' busy
agenda, the Turkish co-chair of the joint commission has said, after
a European lawmaker accused Ankara of delaying the event in order to
avoid criticism.
Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission (KPK) Co-Chair Afif
Demirkıran said a commission meeting planned to be held on Feb. 18
and 19 in Istanbul has been delayed to March because 25 KPK member
lawmakers will have to attend debates for the much-debated security
bill in Ankara.
EU 'knows Turkey's red lines'
Speaking to semi-official Anadolu Agency on Feb. 11, Demirkıran
ruled out claims that the decision was politically-motivated and was
a reaction to the 442 change motions filed about the Progress Report
on Turkey's accession bid currently being prepared by the European
Parliament.
Some 442 motions have been filed by European Parliament lawmakers
to sharpen the tone of the report, including calling on Ankara to
recognize claims that the 1915 massacres of Ottoman Armenians amounted
to genocide, and removing the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
from the EU's terror list.
Demirkıran said the European Parliament's Progress Report called for
the reconciliation of Turkey and Armenia, but stressed that Turkey
rapporteur Kati Piri is "aware of Turkey's red lines" on the issue.
'Cold climate in Istanbul'
A day before, one of the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteurs,
German Christian Democrat party member Renate Sommer, said the delay
request from the Turkish side was "incomprehensible behavior."
In a statement, Sommer suggested that the Turkish government backed
away from the meeting because it feared possible reactions from
European parliamentarians, particularly over the issues of press
freedom and the ongoing Cyprus tension.
Hannes Swaboda, the leader of the Socialist group in the European
Parliament, posted a message on his Twitter account late on Feb. 10
indicating the tension between Ankara and Brussels.
"Cold climate in Istanbul - also politically. But we need to keep
channels of discussion and dialogue open," Swaboda tweeted
February/11/2015
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-eu-parliamentary-meeting-delayed-a-month-amid-cool-relations.aspx?pageID=238&nID=78207&NewsCatID=510
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 11 2015
ANKARA
A planned joint parliamentary meeting between Turkey and EU
representatives was postponed for a month due to lawmakers' busy
agenda, the Turkish co-chair of the joint commission has said, after
a European lawmaker accused Ankara of delaying the event in order to
avoid criticism.
Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission (KPK) Co-Chair Afif
Demirkıran said a commission meeting planned to be held on Feb. 18
and 19 in Istanbul has been delayed to March because 25 KPK member
lawmakers will have to attend debates for the much-debated security
bill in Ankara.
EU 'knows Turkey's red lines'
Speaking to semi-official Anadolu Agency on Feb. 11, Demirkıran
ruled out claims that the decision was politically-motivated and was
a reaction to the 442 change motions filed about the Progress Report
on Turkey's accession bid currently being prepared by the European
Parliament.
Some 442 motions have been filed by European Parliament lawmakers
to sharpen the tone of the report, including calling on Ankara to
recognize claims that the 1915 massacres of Ottoman Armenians amounted
to genocide, and removing the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
from the EU's terror list.
Demirkıran said the European Parliament's Progress Report called for
the reconciliation of Turkey and Armenia, but stressed that Turkey
rapporteur Kati Piri is "aware of Turkey's red lines" on the issue.
'Cold climate in Istanbul'
A day before, one of the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteurs,
German Christian Democrat party member Renate Sommer, said the delay
request from the Turkish side was "incomprehensible behavior."
In a statement, Sommer suggested that the Turkish government backed
away from the meeting because it feared possible reactions from
European parliamentarians, particularly over the issues of press
freedom and the ongoing Cyprus tension.
Hannes Swaboda, the leader of the Socialist group in the European
Parliament, posted a message on his Twitter account late on Feb. 10
indicating the tension between Ankara and Brussels.
"Cold climate in Istanbul - also politically. But we need to keep
channels of discussion and dialogue open," Swaboda tweeted
February/11/2015
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-eu-parliamentary-meeting-delayed-a-month-amid-cool-relations.aspx?pageID=238&nID=78207&NewsCatID=510