Turkey's anti-criticism law draws criticism

Turkey's penal code has an article designed to protect Turkey's national symbols and institutions from criticism. This provision has, ironically, lead to criticism of Turkey for interfering with Turkish citizen's freedom of expression. The criticism has been especially vocal in recent months because it is viewed as an impediment to Turkish membership in the EU, which Turkey is currently negotiating, and because of the trial of Turkey's best-known writer, Orhan Pamuk, for comments considered insulting to the Turkish army. While the Turkish government has not done anything to reform the law, a third source of criticism may finally break the government's intransigence. An MEP is being investigated for violating the law while visiting the country:

The Dutch green deputy Joost Lagendijk is reported to have said during a recent visit to Istanbul: "The military wants clashes with the PKK (Kurdish rebels). This makes it feel powerful and important," according to Reuters.


So disastrous would such a charge be for Turkish membership bid that Turkey's foreign minister has hinted Ankara might change the controversial rules:

Mr Gul indicated on Wednesday that the government could amend the article, arguing that laws are not untouchable and "can be amended if need be," according to AFP.

"We cannot interfere with the courts, but we can monitor how laws are implemented and interpreted and whether that is the direction Turkey wants to take," he said.


Hopefully, this is another sign that Turkey will make the steps necessary to become a modern, liberal democracy.

Link: Turkey considers change to controversial law after MEP probed.

Constitution to wait until 2007

The future fate of the Constitution appears to be on hold until 2007.  The new German Chancellor has proposed making saving the chater the center of the Germans EU presidency in 2007:
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will propose to attach a declaration on the "social dimension of Europe" to the failed EU constitution, in a bid to save the charter.
According to German daily Handelsblatt the non-binding declaration should call upon the EU institutions to better consider the social implications of EU internal market legislation. But the text of the constitution should remain unchanged, according to sources in the European Peoples Party.
The declaration should help reassure French and Dutch voters, who rejected the treaty in referendums last spring, largely in protest against globalisation, enlargement and liberalisation of the service markets.
The Constitution will have to wait until 2007 because the 2006 Austrian and Finnish presidencies will not be pushing for ratification. The good news is that Portugal will follow up Germany's efforts in its presidency in the second half of 2007.

Who will lead Europe?

Given the awful performance of the British presidency and the lackluster promise of the Austrian presidency, Peter Sain ley Berry asks the most important question of the next year: Who will lead Europe in 2006?

Budget Deal and Europe's new Power Structure in Europe

With a lackluster budget deal in place, Europe can breath a bit easier. However, the budget deal is not all that it seems. As ususal, Deutche Welle has a good analysis of what the budget deal means for Europe.