Turkey

Bulgarian nationalist party to table petition for referendum on Turkey’s EU bid

One of Bulgaria’s right-wing nationalist parties, VMRO, said that it would ask Parliament to debate whether the country should hold a referendum on Turkey’s accession to the European Union, after the party claimed to have gathered 300 000 signatures from Bulgarian citizens calling for a referendum.

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Turkey-EU hold meeting in Istanbul

Turkey’s Cabinet ministers and senior representatives of the EU met Tuesday in Istanbul. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis led the Turkish delegation. The EU has been represented by

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Bulgarian Foreign Minister: Bulgaria supports Turkish EU-accession process

Bulgaria’s foreign minister Nikolay Mladenov has played down concerns that Bulgaria would oppose a future membership in the EU on the part of Turkey. Mladenov said that Bulgaria “supports the processes of EU-accession of Turkey”, speaking for the Anatolian News Agency in Dubrovnik, where leaders from the Balkans gathered to …

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Serbia lifts visa requirements for Turkish citizens

The government has decided to abolish entrance visa requirements for Turkish citizens, effective Monday, the day Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicks off a visit. He will meet with President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. The programme also includes a visit to the Muslim-dominated town of Novi …

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NATO Secretary-General says EU “unfair” to Turkey

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday (July 7th) criticised the EU’s “unfair” attitude towards Turkey. In an interview with the Danish daily Politiken, Rasmussen urged the EU “to take a series of pragmatic steps to improve relations with Turkey, entirely outside the [EU accession] negotiations” process. Rasmussen, Denmark’s former …

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Bulgaria to Get Azerbaijan Gas in 2011 via Georgia, Turkey

Bulgaria should receive its first natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan in 2011, agreed the presidents of the two countries, Georgi Parvanov and Ilham Aliyev. Parvanov went to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku Wednesday on a two-day state visit focused precisely on gas supplies talks and energy security. He is returning a visit

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Ban, Eroglu discuss Cypriot issue

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu on Monday (June 28th) to “grasp the current political window of opportunity to reach a settlement” in long-standing efforts

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Eroglu predicts Cypriot reunification deal this year

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said on Sunday (June 27th) that talks to reunify the divided island could lead to a deal by the end of the year. This would require the Greek Cypriot side to demonstrate that it wants to meet the target, Eroglu told the Anadolu news agency …

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Cypriot leaders discuss property issue

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu met on Wednesday (June 23rd) for another round of talks aimed at reunifying the divided island. UN special adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer said the focus this time was the property issue. They will meet again on July 9th.

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