Turkey last week withdrew its commitment to contribute its air and naval units to the European Union's joint battle group, in a move to protest against the 27-nation union for excluding it from the decision-making bodies of NATO-EU cooperation.
Turkish diplomatic sources told the Turkish Daily News that Tacan İldem, Turkey's Permanent Representative to NATO, conveyed Turkey's decision during a Troika meeting in Brussels.
The EU established its own European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) and set up a project called �Headline Goal 2010� that will allow the EU to have a rapid reaction force to intervene in any sort of conflicts in Europe or in nearby regions. But as EU members are not keen in investing in the EU's army, they wanted to use NATO's assets and capabilities.
After lengthy negotiations, NATO and the EU reached agreement called �Berlin Plus� in 2002, where Turkey's sensitivities on the exclusion of the Republic of Cyprus were respected. But the EU in recent years violated the Berlin Plus agreement and tried to exclude Turkey from joint operations where NATO's capabilities are used.
�This is the main reason behind our decision,� said a Turkish diplomat to the TDN. The TDN learned that Turkey also wants to re-negotiate the Berlin Plus agreement to prevent duplications between NATO and the EU.
Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül yesterday confirmed Turkey's move and said a brigade already allocated for the EU was withdrawn, the Anatolian news agency reported.
'EU is deaf to our warnings'
�We can not accept being a substitute force. This private brigade is a well-equipped one. We warned them, we gave them time but they did not give us a place in the basic list.�
According to Turkish sources, the Turkish brigade was appointed as a precautionary force rather than a main force and EU officials did not consult with Turkish officials while preparing the deployment plan.
European sources, on the other hand, yesterday expressed their worries over Turkey's decision that would affect strategic cooperation between NATO and EU, and also some missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan.
NATO's secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Schaeffer, is expected to visit Turkey next week. But sources said the visit was planned much before Turkey's decision. Schaeffer is scheduled to meet with high-level officials from both the government and the military.
Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun gave the first signal last week in Istanbul during an international symposium and said that Turkey is treated like a third class country by the EU.
Turkish Daily News, LINK
Turkish diplomatic sources told the Turkish Daily News that Tacan İldem, Turkey's Permanent Representative to NATO, conveyed Turkey's decision during a Troika meeting in Brussels.
The EU established its own European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) and set up a project called �Headline Goal 2010� that will allow the EU to have a rapid reaction force to intervene in any sort of conflicts in Europe or in nearby regions. But as EU members are not keen in investing in the EU's army, they wanted to use NATO's assets and capabilities.
After lengthy negotiations, NATO and the EU reached agreement called �Berlin Plus� in 2002, where Turkey's sensitivities on the exclusion of the Republic of Cyprus were respected. But the EU in recent years violated the Berlin Plus agreement and tried to exclude Turkey from joint operations where NATO's capabilities are used.
�This is the main reason behind our decision,� said a Turkish diplomat to the TDN. The TDN learned that Turkey also wants to re-negotiate the Berlin Plus agreement to prevent duplications between NATO and the EU.
Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül yesterday confirmed Turkey's move and said a brigade already allocated for the EU was withdrawn, the Anatolian news agency reported.
'EU is deaf to our warnings'
�We can not accept being a substitute force. This private brigade is a well-equipped one. We warned them, we gave them time but they did not give us a place in the basic list.�
According to Turkish sources, the Turkish brigade was appointed as a precautionary force rather than a main force and EU officials did not consult with Turkish officials while preparing the deployment plan.
European sources, on the other hand, yesterday expressed their worries over Turkey's decision that would affect strategic cooperation between NATO and EU, and also some missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan.
NATO's secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Schaeffer, is expected to visit Turkey next week. But sources said the visit was planned much before Turkey's decision. Schaeffer is scheduled to meet with high-level officials from both the government and the military.
Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun gave the first signal last week in Istanbul during an international symposium and said that Turkey is treated like a third class country by the EU.
Turkish Daily News, LINK
Comments