On May 7th, Erdoğan will first head for Slovenia to hold a series of official meetings. While in Slovenia Erdoğan will be presented with the 'World Personality of the Decade' award, by the nation's leading think-tank IFIMES (The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies). IFIMES officials recently announced that they have selected Prime Minister Erdoğan as the recipient of the award due to the constructive policy he exerts for the Balkans and the Middle East.
Erdoğan is expected to move on to the Italian capital of Rome following his visit to Slovenia. The Prime Minister's Italy schedule begins on May 8th. Erdoğan will first hold a one on one meeting with his friend former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Later, Prime Minister Erdoğan, who will be accompanied by nine ministers, is scheduled to hold a meeting between the Turkish and Italian government. This meeting was previously scheduled for December 2009, however it was delayed to the following April when Berlusconi was attacked with a statue.
Due to the developments that ensued in Italy's politics, the meeting was once again postponed. In the end, after two and a half years' the long-delayed meeting will be taking place next week. Bipartite relations will be discussed as well as solutions created in order to ensure that relations are affected as minimally as possible in light of the economic crisis in the EU. Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız, Minister of Transportation Binali Yıldırım, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and Minister of National Defense İsmet Yılmaz are expected to be present at the meeting.
This is a translation of an article originally written by Yahya Bostan.
Responding to the European Parliament resolution condemning the police crackdown on protests sparked by redevelopment plans for Gezi Park, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated “They are confused. They have no fidelity,” and added that European politicians and institutions instantly laid down their masks in order to provoke events. 
One man’s passive defiance by way of standing in place in Taksim Square and looking straight at the Atatürk Culture Center, quickly turned into a social media phenomenon last night. 
Infuriating Germans, Green Party Co-Chair Roth was subjected to pepper spray in Istanbul. Commenting on the incident, German nationals say, “It turns out Erdoğan was right in saying that there are foreign forces triggering Taksim, and Roth’s presence is now proof.” Other comments include, “If Abdullah Gül showed up at Occupy Frankfurt of if Erdoğan was involved in the Stuttgart 21 demonstrations, the ground would shake!”
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has been working continuously since last night on clearing and landscaping Taksim Square and Gezi Park. 
Explaining that the Gezi Park protests were planned six months ago, EU Minister Bağış states, “These protests are an attempt to trigger a move which will end in regime change in Turkey.” Bağış also discussed Prime Minister Erdoğan’s style with the Wall Street Journal. 
They came by land, they came by sea, and they came to hear their Prime Minister speak. Yesterday’s Kazlıçeşme rally in support of Prime Minister Erdoğan saw over a million supporters come out to the square with AK Party and Turkish flags in hand, giving true sentiment to the figures of Erdoğan’s support rate. 
Istanbul Governor Mutlu is calling on protesters to refrain from responding to calls on social media to gather in Taksim because he says; peace has been established once again in Istanbul. 
Nearly a million Istanbul residents flocked out to see Prime Minister Erdoğan speak at an AK Party rally in Kazlıçeşme on Sunday. Istanbul residents want the vandalism of protesters destroying and setting the city on fire to come to an end as soon as possible. Meanwhile, they also support Erdoğan’s referendum proposal.
On the first presidential visit to Ardahan in 18 years, President Gül had the chance to comment on the European Parliament’s resolution vote on Thursday by stating, “When reacting they need to have enough information to realize what is what.”
The number one suspect accused of planning and staging the twin bombings in the Hatay town of Reyhanlı, which killed 52 people, Nasır Eskiocak as well as three other perpetrators were arrested on Friday. 
Istanbul Governor Mutlu held discussions with protesters which started late Thursday night and went on into the early morning hours of Friday. There was no lapse in respect during the talks that were both peaceful and spirited. The main questioned asked was who ordered the use of disproportionate force. 
After deliberations between Prime Minister Erdoğan and other government officials with a delegation representing the Gezi Park protesters which went on into the morning hours of Friday, a decision was reached to respect judicial rulings and citizens’ opinions. Bringing the Gezi Park protests to a close with a series of artistic events is also now on the agenda.
Foreign Minister Davutoğlu says the European Parliament resolution adopted on Thursday is unacceptable and should they notify Turkey of the resolution, then Turkey will instantly return the gesture. 
At 2 pm on Thursday afternoon, a Turkish youth activist group ‘Bizim Çocuklar’ (Our Youth) orchestrated a protest of what they view as the double standard exhibited by western media outside the BBC’s Turkey Office in Istanbul’s prestigious Nisantaş neighbourhood.
