EU ministers set date for Turkey accession talks

DW.DE 

EU foreign ministers have green-lighted the resumption of talks with candidate state Turkey. Negotiations have been stalled for three years by political tensions and, more recently, violent crackdowns on protesters.

European Union foreign ministers announced on Tuesday that talks with Turkey over becoming a member state would resume on November 5. The announcement came as the ministers from the 28-member bloc met in Luxembourg.
This will be the 14th of 35 negotiation chapters with Turkey. Each chapter corresponds to a different topic to be evaluated by the bloc in order to assess whether a candidate complies with EU standards and rules.
"A European Turkey is important for Europe and for Turkey," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told journalists in the run-up to the Tuesday's meeting. "This is a sign that the EU and Turkey want to deepen their relations further."
Turkey applied for membership to what was then the European Economic Community in 1987. Progress in accession talks stalled three years ago over disagreements with France and Germany and continued political tensions with Cyprus.
Government crackdowns on mass protests across Turkey over the summer prompted further concern among EU leaders. It also delayed an agreement reached in June by the EU to take up negotiations once again.
A report released by the European Commission last week recommended moving forward with Ankara. The analysis of Turkey's progress, which was included in a larger report entitled "Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2013-2014," criticized Turkey for its use of violent force "in the face of dissent." However, it also said signs of progress would allow negotiations to resume, citing in particular judicial reforms and the commencement of a peace process with Kurdish groups in the country's south east.
Germany backs move
German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Link said Berlin supported the move, as Turkey had "improved in many areas."
"We think this is the right signal to animate the accession negotiations now," he added.
The delayed progress has tired many in Turkey who were once enthusiastic about joining the European Union.
In reaction to last week's EU Commission report, the Turkish minister responsible for EU relations, Egemen Bagis, said the lack of progress had fatigued Turkish citizens and was the reason behind growing disinterest in talks with the EU.
Link expressed hope on Tuesday that the announcement would be "a signal to Turkish citizens that the EU would truly like to open up."
"This way, we will get the momentum needed to also discuss with Turkey the difficult remaining points," Link said.
kms/pfd (AFP, dpa)

Bundestag re-elects parliamentary President Lammert ahead of coalition talks

Germany’s lower house of parliament has re-elected Norbert Lammert as president of the Bundestag. The first meeting of the new parliament came a day ahead of the first coalition talks between the CDU and SPD.

Lawmakers convened in the Bundestag in Berlin on Tuesday for the inaugural meeting of parliament following the September 22 election in which Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives cruised to victory.
The main topic on the agenda was the election of a new parliamentary president to lead the lower house for the next four years. As expected, Norbert Lammert of Merkel's Christian Democrats was re-elected, this time with almost 95 percent of the 625 votes cast. Lammert has held the job since Merkel first took office in 2005.

DW.DE

SPD on its way to a grand coalition

Germany's Social Democrats want to form a government with Angela Merkel's conservatives. But the party is unlikely to get its way in the negotiations to begin this week. (21.10.2013)

Tuesday's meeting came a day ahead of the first formal coalition talks between Germany's two largest parties, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), who are seeking to form a so-called "grand coalition government." This comes after a series of exploratory talks between leaders of the CDU and both the SPD and the Greens since the September 22 general election.
The two parties governed in a previous grand coalition under Chancellor Merkel between 2005 and 2009, when her CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) had won just four more seats than the SPD. This time, however, many SPD members fear any coalition with the CDU/CSU will see them as clearly the junior partners, after Merkel's bloc fell just five seats short of a majority in last month's election.
Leading Social Democrats, though, have said that they are determined to get a number of key policy issues that they campaigned on into any coalition agreement with the conservatives. Among these is a general minimum wage, something which the CDU/CSU have repeatedly ruled out.
Although the term of Chancellor Merkel's previous coalition with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) also ends on Tuesday, it is to remain in office on a caretaker basis until a new coalition agreement has been reached. The Free Democrats were the conservatives' preferred coalition partners, however in last month's election they failed to gain the minimum five percent of votes needed to enter the Bundestag.
pfd/kms (dpa, Reuters, EPD)

Bundestag re-elects parliamentary President Lammert ahead of coalition talks

Germany’s lower house of parliament has re-elected Norbert Lammert as president of the Bundestag. The first meeting of the new parliament came a day ahead of the first coalition talks between the CDU and SPD.

Lawmakers convened in the Bundestag in Berlin on Tuesday for the inaugural meeting of parliament following the September 22 election in which Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives cruised to victory.
The main topic on the agenda was the election of a new parliamentary president to lead the lower house for the next four years. As expected, Norbert Lammert of Merkel's Christian Democrats was re-elected, this time with almost 95 percent of the 625 votes cast. Lammert has held the job since Merkel first took office in 2005.

DW.DE

SPD on its way to a grand coalition

Germany's Social Democrats want to form a government with Angela Merkel's conservatives. But the party is unlikely to get its way in the negotiations to begin this week. (21.10.2013)

Tuesday's meeting came a day ahead of the first formal coalition talks between Germany's two largest parties, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), who are seeking to form a so-called "grand coalition government." This comes after a series of exploratory talks between leaders of the CDU and both the SPD and the Greens since the September 22 general election.
The two parties governed in a previous grand coalition under Chancellor Merkel between 2005 and 2009, when her CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) had won just four more seats than the SPD. This time, however, many SPD members fear any coalition with the CDU/CSU will see them as clearly the junior partners, after Merkel's bloc fell just five seats short of a majority in last month's election.
Leading Social Democrats, though, have said that they are determined to get a number of key policy issues that they campaigned on into any coalition agreement with the conservatives. Among these is a general minimum wage, something which the CDU/CSU have repeatedly ruled out.
Although the term of Chancellor Merkel's previous coalition with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) also ends on Tuesday, it is to remain in office on a caretaker basis until a new coalition agreement has been reached. The Free Democrats were the conservatives' preferred coalition partners, however in last month's election they failed to gain the minimum five percent of votes needed to enter the Bundestag.
pfd/kms (dpa, Reuters, EPD)