Ankara ambivalent toward new EU president

Ankara is not uneasy with Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy becoming the European Union’s first full-time president since he has promised to be objective in Turkey’s membership process.

Rompuy has been known to make opposition statements regarding Turkey’s EU membership bid in the past.

“It is a result of a culture of compromise and the need to keep balances in the EU. The balances between conservative and socialist circles as well as small and big countries were considered,” chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış said Friday after Britain’s EU commissioner, Catherine Ashton, was also appointed the union’s news foreign policy chief.

Both the United Kingdom and Belgium support Turkey’s EU bid, Bağış said. “They have generally taken a positive stance toward the enlargement and have also supported our membership bid,” he said in a written statement.

“As a future member of the EU, Turkey will continue to back the union’s efforts to be a global actor,” Bağış said, calling on Rompuy and Ashton to act in this regard.

“It is important that Rompuy promised to be fair and objective related to our country’s membership bid. It suits the principle of pacta sunt servanda [agreements must be kept],” Bağış said.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Burak Özügergin expressed a similar opinion on Friday in a phone interview with the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “We don’t think any negative incident will take place within the forthcoming period,” he said.

“Regardless of the different opinions of EU leaders; what we pay attention to are the responsibilities in connection to the negotiation framework document,” Özügergin said. “That’s the outline Mr. Rompuy drew when he was elected.”

Turkey is happy the Lisbon Treaty has now taken effect and is full of expectations for the negotiations. “We attach a high importance to a smooth period in which the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. We are expecting developments related to Turkey,” Özügergin said.

Cengiz Aktar, an EU expert, confirmed the official view by saying: “Rompuy’s personal opinion will not affect [his remarks as EU president] as the statement he made yesterday confirmed.”

“If he insisted on his earlier remarks, he would totally have changed the foreign policy of Belgium after being elected as prime minister. But he didn’t, so there is no need to worry,” Aktar told the Daily News in a phone interview on Friday.

“Belgium is a member of the union and has always been supportive of Turkey’s EU bid. Whatever the color of the government, it’s been supportive,” Aktar said, adding that, regardless of the fact, neither Rompuy nor Ashton will be an ultimate decision-maker.

Hesitations stemming from past

Rompuy has not had a good reputation in Ankara ever since making remarks that firmly opposed Turkey’s accession to the EU. “Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe,” he said during a meeting held at the Belgian parliament in December 2004.

“An expansion of the EU to include Turkey cannot be considered as just another expansion, as in the past. The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also the fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigor with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey.”

These remarks put him on the side of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, both of whom favor offering Turkey a privileged partnership, instead of full membership within the union.

Suat Kınıklıoğlu, foreign relations deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, expressed his surprise with the election of a “low-profile name” for the EU presidency.

“It does not compromise with the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty, which envisages the EU to be an important actor on the international scene,” Kınıkoğlu told the Daily News.

“[But] we do see it as very telling that the EU opted for a man who spoke firmly against Turkish membership. It is clear that German-French duo is the dominant power in the union’s decisions.”

The newly elected Ashton is predicted to be a balancing factor under Rompuy’s presidency. “She is not well experienced in foreign policy, but is from a country that always has supported Turkey’s bid. She will be leading the union’s foreign affairs and I find her assignment positive regarding membership negotiations,” Kınıkoğlu said. 

Italy reacts at decision to remove Roman law class

Roman law, which has been a core requirement course for Turkish law students, will no longer be mandatory after a decision from the Higher Education Board, or, YÖK. The lessons will continue to be optional, however.

The Italian Embassy in Ankara criticized the decision and called for a revision in a written statement on Friday. “The Italian Embassy has regretfully learned in surprise that Roman law has been removed as a mandatory lesson in law departments.”

“Roman law is the basis for both public and private law in Western legal science,” the statement said. “Such a decision is a harsh blow against Turkey’s image in Europe in a period when Italy is doing its best to contribute a positive impact.”

The embassy called on the officials to reconsider their decision, saying, “We really hope the decision in question will be revised.”