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France: Sarkozy: It is time someone told Turkey its place is in Asia

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sarkosy-on-turkeyFormer French President Nicolas Sarkozy considers it necessary to halt European Union membership talks with Turkey if he is re-elected as French president, Interfax reports, citing Hurriyet.

“It is time that someone told Turkey its place is in Asia,” Sarkozy said.

He also pledged to do his utmost to change Britain’s decision on Brexit.

In Sarkozy’s words, in case of being re-elected he would leave for Britain with a draft treaty on EU membership to persuade London to reconsider the referendum results, which led to the departure from the bloc.

“Do you want to stay? If yes, so much better, because I can’t accept to lose Europe’s second-largest economy while we are negotiating with Turkey over its EU membership. And if it’s a no, then it’s a real no,” Sarkozy noted.

EU congratulates the Republic of Armenia on 25th Independence Day

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eu-armeniaThe European Union congratulated the Republic of Armenia and its people on the 25th anniversary of its independence.

“The Republic of Armenia has undergone profound developments in these past years and we as the European Union look forward to continuing to work closely with the country in the future. The European Union has and will continue to support the development of strong democratic institutions, the rule of law, and economic prosperity, for the benefit of all citizens.

We look forward to the future EU-Armenia Agreement, which would, alongside our engagement in the Eastern Partnership framework, enable the European Union to enhance our dialogue with the Armenian authorities, to support them in their reform efforts and to increase our contacts with the population,” reads the EU congratulatory message .

 

Source Panorama.am

Turkish EU bid ‘unrealistic’ while Erdogan in power – European commissioner

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turkey-eu-bidTurkey is unlikely to join the European Union as long as its president remains in office, a top official from the bloc has said, adding that Ankara’s bid will be an issue for negotiations “for the time after Erdogan.”

In the current circumstances Turkey’s EU accession “is not realistic all through the next decade,” Guenther Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, told Bild newspaper on Tuesday.

This will surely be an issue [for discussion] for the time after [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” he said. The official added, however, that Ankara is an important geostrategic and economic partner for the EU, and keeping good bilateral ties is critical.

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has also previously dismissed the Turkish accession bid, which started in 2005. Speaking to reporters in early June, he said Europe was not in a position to admit “even a small state” to its 28-nation ranks, according to the broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

“The illusion … here comes someone to soon become a full member in the EU … that’s complete nonsense … that will not eventuate,” he was quoted as saying by DW.

Talks between Ankara and Brussels on Turkey’s EU membership have not been smooth, with Turkey linking the progress in discussions on granting visa-free travel for its nationals to its contribution to a controversial refugee deal.

In turn, the EU cites 72 conditions on issues such as the rule of law and human rights to be implemented by Turkey for lifting the visa requirements. A number of prominent European officials have accused Turkey of “blackmailing” Brussels or even behaving “like at a bazaar” by trying to raising the stakes.

European officials say that although Turkey has fulfilled most of the 72 conditions, it has failed to comply with the most important one, which is to relax its strict anti-terrorism laws, said to have been used to silence Erdogan’s critics.

Ankara maintains that it is Brussels which has not stuck to the initial arrangements and has failed to meet its own obligations.

Source: https://www.rt.com/news/357646-turkey-eu-accession-unlikely/

Video: How Turkish despotic Ruler Erdogan simultaneously Blackmail EU, U.S., Russia

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how erdogan blakmail 740 1

 

In This Video How Turkish despotic Ruler Erdogan simultaneously Blackmail EU, U.S. Russia.
How Israel, Islam, and NATO a deadly weapon in Turkish Hand
how Turkey made billions from Syrians and Iraqi, refugees, how Turks have no concept of coexisting with others, neo-ottoman project, Arab spring, Islamic state as Turkish trial balloon. Erdogan takeover of Gulen industries, and much more.

Armenia wins two golds at European Youth Chess Championship

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youth-chessArmenian chess players won two gold medals at the European Youth Chess Championship in Prague, the Czech Republic.

Mamikon Gharibyan won gold in Boys under 12 (B12) category, scoring eight points out of possible nine.

Meanwhile, Manuel Petrosyan won the B18 category with 7.5 points.

Several other Armenians participated and were included at least in the top 10 in their respective categories at the European Championship which lasted ten days with around 6000 games.

Russia won 15 medals in total, including 5 gold ones.

Related links:

Aysor.am. Մամիկոն Ղարիբյանը և Մանուէլ Պետրոսյանը՝ Եվրոպայի չեմպիոններ

Austria says EU does not need Turkey to cope with migrants

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Austia-fmThe European Union does not need Turkey to cope with the migrant crisis, which paralyzed the bloc in 2015 after more than 1 million migrants flocked to the EU, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has said, adding that what the EU needed was a “real Plan A.”

“We must not give in to blackmail and therefore do not need a plan B. We at last need a proper plan A,” Kurz told Focus Online on Aug. 15, adding that Turkey was trying to target the EU with an ultimatum for the visa liberalization process.

“If we take the necessary action, we do not need a plan B, so no deal with Turkey,” he added.

Relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained since Brussels pressured Turkey to change its anti-terror law, one of the 72 criteria Turkey needs to fulfill in exchange for Turkish citizens to be granted visa-free travel inside the EU’s Schengen zone. This exchange was reached within the scope of a migrant deal between the sides, in which Turkey would help curb the migrant influx into the bloc in exchange for accelerated membership talks, EU funding for Syrians in Turkey, and visa liberalization for Turkish citizens.

Strained relations have gotten even worse after failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15. Turkey accuses the EU and the West of not giving enough support to the Turkish government after the coup attempt was overcome and being more concerned about the crackdown in the aftermath.

Kurz and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu have been in a war of words since last week, when the former suggested that Ankara’s EU membership bid should not proceed and the latter responded that Turkey would halt the migrant deal if Turkey’s visa-free demand is not met.

“I do not know if the deal will be officially terminated. But what we are experiencing now are threats and the attempt by Turkey to provide us with an ultimatum for visa liberalization,” Kurz told Focus Online.

Turkey threatens to scrap EU refugee deal unless visa-free deadline met

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turkey-threatens-eu

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, August 2, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Turkey has once again threatened to scrap a refugee deal it has struck with the European Union (EU) unless the bloc grants visa-free entry into Europe to Turkish citizens by October.

Speaking in an interview with the German Bild newspaper, which was published on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu implied that hundreds of thousands of refugees in Turkey would be allowed into Europe if Turks were denied free-visa travel by October.

“I don’t want to talk about the worst case scenario — talks with the EU are continuing — but it’s clear that we either apply all treaties at the same time or we put them all aside,” Cavusoglu said.

“It can’t be that we implement everything that is good for the EU but that Turkey gets nothing in return,” he added.

The agreement that Turkey is threatening to scrap was signed in March. Under the deal, Turkey has committed to taking back all the asylum seekers and refugees who have used the Aegean Sea to illegally reach Greece. In return, Ankara has been promised a number of things, including the acceleration of visa liberalization talks but not visa-free travel itself — at least not yet.

Turkey has been negotiating a sub-deal to obtain that privilege for Turks.

Russia replaced the European Union as a trading partner of Armenia

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russia-armenia-economyFor the first time since the mid-1990s, Russia overtook the EU as a trading partner of Armenia in the first half of this year, the Armenian official statistics show.

The National Statistical Service (NSS) announced this month that Russia accounted for 26.4% of foreign trade of Armenia in this period, compared with the share of 25.3% in the EU.

The NSS said that the Russian-Armenian trade increased by 12.4% to nearly $ 600 million thanks to a near doubling of Armenian exports to Russia. Trade of Armenia with the EU member states increased by less than 2%.

The EU has become the largest trade partner of Armenia a few years after the breakup of the Soviet Union. It has since been the major supplier of industrial equipment, cars and some of the South Caucasus countries consumer goods. Europe has also been the main destination for Armenian export products, such as base metals and refined diamonds.

In the late 1990s, the EU would hamper already about a third of trade in Armenia with the outside world. The NSS figures show that this proportion has remained largely unchanged in the next decade.

In contrast, the share of Russia in the Armenian foreign trade declined steadily, to finish at only 11.5% in 2004.

These business models began to change slowly in 2012 amid an increase in Armenian food exports to Russia and falling international price of copper and other nonferrous metals, the main source of export earnings of ‘Armenia. The controversial decision of President Serzh Sargsyan in 2013 to join the trade bloc led by Russia, instead of signing a free trade agreement reaching with the EU, seems to have only accelerated this trend.

The commercial importance of Russia to Armenia has continued to increase, even after a sharp depreciation of the Russian ruble has caused a 18% drop in trade between the two countries last year. The fall of the commerce of Armenia with the EU was even stronger.

According to the NSS, EU exports to Armenia collapsed by over 30% in 2015, reflecting a decrease in consumer spending in the country, which in turn was caused, in large measure, by lower remittances from Armenians working in Russia, hit by a recession.

The first half of 2016, Armenian exports to Russia jumped nearly 90% to $ 168 million. Alcoholic beverages, prepared food and fresh agricultural products constituted the bulk of these shipments.

Russia has always been the main export market for food processing and agriculture of Armenia. The accession of Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) clearly more ease their access to this huge market.

In comparison, exports of Armenian non-ferrous metals other than gold, fell by over 10% between January and June. Even so, exports for the first half of Armenia to the EU have increased by nearly 12% to $ 230 million, which means that the EU remains the largest export market despite falling behind Russia in the overall foreign trade of the country.

Monday, August 15, 2016,
Claire © armenews.com

EU: Vienna will oppose the opening of new chapters with Turkey (Minister)

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austeria no turkeyVienna will oppose the opening of new negotiation chapters for the entry of Turkey into the European Union, particularly because of the scale of repression since the failed coup of July 15, announced head of the Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz.

“I say in the council (EU) Ministers of Foreign Affairs, where it will be decided whether a new chapter will be opened with Turkey. And I am opposed, “he said in an interview to be published Sunday in the daily Kurier. Decisions in this council must be taken unanimously.

This position is shared by the Social Democratic chancellor Christian Kern, who will try to turn to “convince other heads of state and government need to stop the accession negotiations with Turkey” at the European summit of 16 September, said the Conservative minister.

The relaunch of EU-Turkey accession negotiations, as the visa exemption for Turkish nationals, are the main counterparties demanded by Ankara to continue to block the flow of migrants to Europe, under the terms of an agreement concluded with the Twenty-Eight in March.

Skeptical for several months on the merits of the agreement extorted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austria has multiplied heated exchanges with Ankara in recent days, hardening day by day its position because of the scale of purges ordered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Wednesday, Mr Kern had urged the EU to stop the Turkish accession talks, but without openly brandish the threat of a veto of his country.

Kurz has in turn called repeatedly its European partners to organize flow management independently refugees from Turkey, so as not to “depend” of that State. “The house of cards of the failed migration policy in Europe is about to collapse,” said he warned Friday evening on Austrian TV.

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, recently itself mentioned a risk “high” to see scupper agreement. He warned Thursday that a breakdown in negotiations would be a “serious foreign policy mistake.”

Vis-à-vis Turkey firmness been a broad consensus in the Austrian political class, both in the big left-right coalition that among the FPÖ and Green opposition parties, two months of a new presidential election.

Sunday, August 7, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Austria calls for EU to end Turkey’s accession process

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Austria-turkey euAustrian Chancellor Christian Kern, Wednesday urged the European Union to stop the Turkish accession talks, whereas Ankara is conducting a purge of magnitude following the failed coup of 15 July.

The accession of Turkey to the EU was already experiencing problems since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested to reinstate the death penalty. “We have to face reality: the accession negotiations are nothing more than fiction,” said Christian Kern Austrian media, adding that “the Turkish democratic norms are far from sufficient for membership.”

The chancellor said he wanted a debate on the subject be discussed at the European Council on 16 September. Rather it recommends the EU to seek “new alternatives” to help the Turkish economy to move closer to European requirements.

“(The country) remains an important partner in issues of security and integration,” said Christian Kern, stressing the key role of Turkey in the crisis of migrants.

In March, Turkey and the EU have signed a pact to dry up migrant crossings from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands, and allows the return to Turkey of migrants in exchange for political and financial counterparties whose acceleration accession negotiations.

Thursday, August 4, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com