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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (January 3, 1996)From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>Turkish News DirectoryCONTENTS[01] CUSTOMS UNION TO LOWER THE PRICES[02] TURKEY ENACTS PROVISIONAL BUDGET[03] TURKEY DRAFTS $64.6 MILLION FARM INCENTIVES[04] ISRAEL INVOLVED IN WATER ISSUE[05] PKK ON WASHINGTON AGENDA[06] TURKEY PREPARES ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN[07] RUSSIANS ADMIRE TURKEYTURKISH PRESS REVIEWWEDNESDAY JANUARY 3, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] CUSTOMS UNION TO LOWER THE PRICESThe customs union between Turkey and the EU came into effect on 1 January 1996 and opened the doors to cheaper European commodities from cameras and videos to automobiles lowering prices by 2-20 %. It has been determined by the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade how the prices of many commodities will be lowered. The difference between the mass housing fund and the old and the new tariffs will be reflected in the markets as the price rates of European goods fall.The new official import regulations 854 pages long. The lowered tariffs on agricultural products will be applied gradually until the year 2001 and in the first stage there will be no considerable drop in food products like macaroni, dried milk and biscuit. /Sabah/
[02] TURKEY ENACTS PROVISIONAL BUDGETParliament has formally endorsed a provisional state budget to cover the first four months of 1996. This is the first provisional budget since 1988. A law for the 1996 provisional budget became effective on January 1, 1996 after it was published in the Official Gazette on October 11, 1995. The law authorizes the Cabinet to make public spending decisions and to collect state revenues for the period of four months until the budget draft for the 1996 financial year is endorsed. It also authorizes the Cabinet to make salary arrangements for Turkey's 1.7 million civil servants between January 1 and April 30, 1996. /All papers/
[03] TURKEY DRAFTS $64.6 MILLION FARM INCENTIVESTurkey will grant $64.6 million in farm incentives in 1996 in line with GATT regulations on the matter. The Foreign Trade Undersecretariat said that Turkey would continue to apply incentives on agricultural products in 1996, in decreasing amounts. The draft, signed by State Minister Aykon Dogan, will come into effect after it is endorsed by the Money Credit Board. The number of agricultural product groups that will receive a tax rebate will decline from 27 to 24, and the total rebate will fall from $80 million to $64.6 million. The tax rebates will be provided from the Support and Price Stability Fund.As a developing country, Turkey is committed to cutting export subsidies by 1.4 % over a period of ten years. It is also committed to cutting the subsidies budget by 2.4 % each year for a decade. /All papers/
[04] ISRAEL INVOLVED IN WATER ISSUEReports from the Foreign Ministry say that Israel is trying to use the water issue between Turkey and Syria as a factor in concluding a peace agreement with the Syrians.Officials claim that Israel does not want to lose the water sources in the Golan Heights, and instead want Turkey to provide more water to Syria from the waters of the Euphrates River. Some of the Arab countries have tries to squeeze Turkey into a corner in connection with water supplies to Syria, and the thought is that Israel is behind much of the pressure currently being exerted against Turkey. /Milliyet/
[05] PKK ON WASHINGTON AGENDAThe second round of Israel-Syria peace talks will begin today in Washington, and one of the main issues will be the support that Syria gives to the terrorist PKK organization. US administration officials have noted that under the present circumstances, with Syria supporting terrorism, a peace deal with Israel looks very far away indeed.Syria is under constant pressure from the US and Turkey to stop supporting the PKK. Both Israeli and US officials have said that Syrian help for the PKK is a block to peace efforts. On the other hand, some officials say that a "comprehensive" security agreement could be reached. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/
[06] TURKEY PREPARES ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLANMany countries, including Indonesia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Israel and China, are determining their environmental priorities by drafting a National Environmental Action Plan (UCEP). Turkey has decided to join this group by developing an action plan of its own. The action plan will be put together with the help of the Environment Ministry, State Planning Organization, the World Bank and the reports of 19 UCEP work groups. Officials from the World Bank said Turkey's environmental priorities would be taken up in March with the first workshop, and added that financial institutes, voluntary organizations and local administrations could contribute to UCEP. Officials noted that the World Bank was giving credit to countries which have a National Environmental Action Plan. /All papers/
[07] RUSSIANS ADMIRE TURKEYA public survey carried out by the daily Milliyet newspaper among 3,200 Russian people shows that the Russians' view of Turkey and the Turkish people was very different from that of European countries. The survey was conducted by the International Sociologic Research Centre in late 1995 in Moscow, St.Petersbourg, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Ryazan and Kaluga.According to the survey, 75 % of Russian people consider relations between Turkey and Russia as "friendly". 60 % of those who participated in the survey described Turkey as a "highly developed" country, while 27 % saw Turkey as a "developed" country. The interesting point about the survey is that contrary to the view which some politicians try to spread, 74 % of the Russian people do not view "Turkey as a danger to Russia". 93 % of the Russian people interviewed want to see Turkey as a "secular and contemporary country". /Milliyet/ |
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