Euronews adds Turkish to its 24-hour broadcasts

International news channel Euronews' new Turkish-language broadcasts will open an important door for Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, who is also the state minister responsible for the state-run broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) said yesterday. The multilingual broadcaster over the weekend added Turkish to its already existing broadcasts in German, English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Russian. The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) held a ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday to salute those behind Turkish being added to the lineup. "Turkey's efforts for full European Union membership will become stronger with the contributions of Euronews," Arinc told the ceremony, adding that Turkey would also become a better-known country through the broadcasts. Euronews' Turkish service will be reach 293 million people in 150 countries by satellite and cable providers and channels, including Turkey's TRT, as well as over the Internet. The ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, TRT head Ibrahim Sahin, ITO head Murat Yalcintas, and Euronews CEO Philippe Cayla. Under an agreement signed by TRT and Euronews, the supervisory board of Euronews, chaired by Pier Luigi Malesani, is now made up of 14 members, including TRT. The Turkish version of Euronews will be produced at the Euronews headquarters in Lyons, France, by a team of 20-30 permanent staffers, including 17 Turkish journalists. The Euronews Web site euronews.net will also have a Turkish version. Speaking to Euronews, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan complained about what he called the dishonesty of some EU member states towards Turkey's EU accession process. "They're trying to corner Turkey through conditions that are nowhere in the EU acquis communautaire. This is very wrong," he said. Stressing that the EU shouldn't become a "Christians only" club, but rather a union based on common values such as democracy and human rights, Erdogan expressed determination to pursue Turkey's EU bid no matter what obstacles stand in the way. He also warned of rising Islamophobia across the continent.