Slovakia keeps supporting Turkey's EU bid

TurkishDefense · 11-02-2009, 05:06 PM

Monday, November 2, 2009
BRATISLAVA - Anatolia News Agency
Slovakia will keep supporting Turkey's full membership to the European Union, Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic said on Monday during a joint press conference with visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gül in Bratislava.
Gasparovic said the EU did not have a status such as “privileged partnership,” and Turkey would become a full member of the EU when it fulfilled the conditions. Replying to a question, he said the latest progress report released by the European Commission was "positive" and the report confirmed that Turkey had fulfilled its task.
Turkey's accession would enrich the EU, Gasparovic said.
Thanking Slovakia for supporting Turkey's EU bid, President Gül said no one had the right to block, directly or indirectly, Turkey's negotiation process with the EU, recalling that Turkey has been part of the Customs Union since 1995.
“Turkey is a limited member of the EU currently. I would like to draw this to the attention of certain countries that refer to Turkey's limited membership openly or behind closed doors. Turkey's present status is ahead of a limited membership,” he said.
Expressing his happiness in visiting Slovakia, Gül said that Slovakia had achieved much success since gaining independence. “We exchanged ideas during our meeting as well as during the meeting of the respective delegations. We had a chance to evaluate bilateral ties,” Gül said.
Firm cooperation
The Turkish president said Turkey and Slovakia had good cooperation in political matters and supported each other in international organizations. “Economic relations between the two countries are progressing well. The bilateral trade volume has reached 1 billion euros. A potential for mutual investments exists,” Gül said. “We discussed the issue of energy and reaffirmed Turkey's crucial role for Europe's energy security. I informed President Gasparovic about Turkey's attempts for peace in its surrounding region.”
Asked whether it would be acceptable for Turkey to receive the status of a "privileged partner" in the EU, President Gül said "there is no such thing as limited membership in the EU.”
“No one has the right to [negatively] affect Turkey's negotiation process directly or indirectly,” he said. In response to a question on Afghanistan, Gül said that Turkey believed a solution in Afghanistan could not be reached merely by military force.
“Turkey pays high attention to winning the hearts of the Afghan people while taking strong military measures in the country. Turkey is involved in projects related to education, health and construction in Afghanistan,” Gül said.
Meanwhile, Turkey and Slovakia signed an agreement on Monday for the construction of a monument for Turkish soldiers killed on the Galician front, today’s Poland and Ukraine, in World War I. The military memorial will be built for 51 Turkish soldiers who lost their lives, in accordance with the agreement.

hurriyetdailynews

hidayatnw · 11-02-2009, 11:22 PM

hope better with Turkey..

Jurinko · 11-03-2009, 07:42 AM

Our government has no clue concerning the foreign policy; they are too busy establishing socialism in Chavez style now.

Take it as Nicaragua support for South Ossetia.

vrb · 11-03-2009, 09:23 AM

I suspect something to do with energy security here. Those Nuclear plants at Bohunice V1 units 1 and 2 are due to close soon and I suspect with rapid economic progress they need secure energy. The found out to their cost that Russia can turn the gas off whenever it likes so it makes sense to find another partner.

Now if only they'd reopen Sliac to civilian traffic, preferably Stansted <-> Sliac then I'd support their bid as well

11-02-2009, 05:06 PM	#1
TurkishDefense Banned user Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 566	Slovakia keeps supporting Turkey's EU bid Monday, November 2, 2009 BRATISLAVA - Anatolia News Agency Slovakia will keep supporting Turkey's full membership to the European Union, Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic said on Monday during a joint press conference with visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gül in Bratislava. Gasparovic said the EU did not have a status such as “privileged partnership,” and Turkey would become a full member of the EU when it fulfilled the conditions. Replying to a question, he said the latest progress report released by the European Commission was "positive" and the report confirmed that Turkey had fulfilled its task. Turkey's accession would enrich the EU, Gasparovic said. Thanking Slovakia for supporting Turkey's EU bid, President Gül said no one had the right to block, directly or indirectly, Turkey's negotiation process with the EU, recalling that Turkey has been part of the Customs Union since 1995. “Turkey is a limited member of the EU currently. I would like to draw this to the attention of certain countries that refer to Turkey's limited membership openly or behind closed doors. Turkey's present status is ahead of a limited membership,” he said. Expressing his happiness in visiting Slovakia, Gül said that Slovakia had achieved much success since gaining independence. “We exchanged ideas during our meeting as well as during the meeting of the respective delegations. We had a chance to evaluate bilateral ties,” Gül said. Firm cooperation The Turkish president said Turkey and Slovakia had good cooperation in political matters and supported each other in international organizations. “Economic relations between the two countries are progressing well. The bilateral trade volume has reached 1 billion euros. A potential for mutual investments exists,” Gül said. “We discussed the issue of energy and reaffirmed Turkey's crucial role for Europe's energy security. I informed President Gasparovic about Turkey's attempts for peace in its surrounding region.” Asked whether it would be acceptable for Turkey to receive the status of a "privileged partner" in the EU, President Gül said "there is no such thing as limited membership in the EU.” “No one has the right to [negatively] affect Turkey's negotiation process directly or indirectly,” he said. In response to a question on Afghanistan, Gül said that Turkey believed a solution in Afghanistan could not be reached merely by military force. “Turkey pays high attention to winning the hearts of the Afghan people while taking strong military measures in the country. Turkey is involved in projects related to education, health and construction in Afghanistan,” Gül said. Meanwhile, Turkey and Slovakia signed an agreement on Monday for the construction of a monument for Turkish soldiers killed on the Galician front, today’s Poland and Ukraine, in World War I. The military memorial will be built for 51 Turkish soldiers who lost their lives, in accordance with the agreement. hurriyetdailynews

11-02-2009, 11:22 PM	#2
hidayatnw Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: 200 mtrs from McD Posts: 134	hope better with Turkey..

11-03-2009, 07:42 AM	#3
Jurinko Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Central Europe Posts: 195	Our government has no clue concerning the foreign policy; they are too busy establishing socialism in Chavez style now. Take it as Nicaragua support for South Ossetia.

11-03-2009, 09:23 AM	#4
vrb Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Moonbase Alpha.. Posts: 286	I suspect something to do with energy security here. Those Nuclear plants at Bohunice V1 units 1 and 2 are due to close soon and I suspect with rapid economic progress they need secure energy. The found out to their cost that Russia can turn the gas off whenever it likes so it makes sense to find another partner. Now if only they'd reopen Sliac to civilian traffic, preferably Stansted <-> Sliac then I'd support their bid as well