Brussels, 09/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament regrets the “slowness” of the reform process in Turkey and has expressed concern about the Turkish government and opposition's lack of hurry in reaching agreement on key reforms needed to meet the EU accession criteria set out in the Copenhagen agreement. In a resolution adopted in Strasbourg on Wednesday 9 March, the EP expresses grave concern at the deterioration of freedom of the media in Turkey, along with censorship and frequent self-censorship in the Turkish media, even on the internet. Other fundamental rights, like freedom of association and the freedom to hold meetings are regularly flouted, explain the MEPs. They welcome progress in reforming the judiciary although they remain worried about the way the Turkish courts operate, which are not always sufficient to ensure the right to a free trial in a reasonable time.
The EP congratulates Turkey on the government's dialogue with the religious communities, including the Halevis and the Greek, Armenian and other Christian groups, but regret that only limited progress has been made on the laws surrounding the religious communities and how they operate.
The MEPs welcome the publication of a number of amendments to the Turkish constitution but point out that “an overall constitutional reform is still needed to transform Turkey into a real democracy”. The MEPs welcome the recent conclusion of negotiations on a re-admission agreement between the EU and Turkey, noting that once the agreement comes into force, the Commission should start “a visa dialogue, with particular attention to the matter of entry conditions for business people and students”.
Ankara Protocol. The EP regrets that the additional protocol to the EU-Turkey Association Agreement has not yet been implemented by Ankara, a fact “which continues to affect the negotiations process”. The member states are asked to enter negotiations on the energy chapter and Turkey is encouraged to take the measures needed to conclude chapters like industrial policy and trans-European networks. Ankara should unreservedly back the international community's work to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
Joining the EU or privileged partnership? The terms used and the specific demands made in the resolution arose after bitter negotiations between the EP's political parties. During the drawing up of the resolution by the EP's foreign affairs committee, the EPP agreed to withdraw an amendment calling on the EU institutions to “study the possibility” of introducing a “privileged partnership” with Turkey rather than letting the country join the EU. In return, the foreign affairs committee avoided any mention of an “EU and Turkey common objective” (as the S&D Group wanted to put) of ensuring that the negotiations ended in Turkey joining the EU. The resolution uses the same wording as last year, describing the opening of Turkey's accession talks in 2005 as a “starting point for a long-lasting and open-ended process.”
Debate. During the debate, many MEPs from across the political divide pointed out that the EU had to take a strong line over respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Turkey. Particularly as the country is seen by southern Mediterranean and North African countries moving towards democracy as an inspiration, explained French Green Hélène Flautre. She commented that suspending talks on negotiating chapters to punish Turkey for refusing to apply the Ankara Protocol may prove to be counterproductive because the EU would in this way lose its main lever to encourage Turkey to introduce democratic reforms. Richard Howitt (S&D, UK) regretted that the negotiations had been “strangulated” and called for the justice and fundamental freedoms and CFSP chapters to be opened. With only three negotiable chapters on the table, the accession talks could soon run dry, explained Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (ALDE, Germany), adding that the EU and Turkey both need each other and cannot allow themselves to run out of subjects of discussion. (H.B./transl.fl)