Brussels, 21/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - During his visit to Brussels on 21 January, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to be reassuring on his country's justice reform and particularly on the reform of the high council of judges and prosecutors - which is of concern to the EU. “No one can question the need for the separation of powers but these powers cannot interfere with one another. If one interferes with the other, the country loses its democratic qualities. The judicial system cannot go beyond its mandate and the mission with which it has been entrusted. This is what we are doing in Turkey. All the rest is false information”, Erdogan said. He stated that it is necessary to act so that impartiality and independence of the judiciary might be fully applied, and that “this can be done by the legislative power”.
The Turkish explanations seemed to satisfy the EU. “This is a discussion that I liked. Erdogan was frank and gave assurances that he wanted to respect the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law (…). I am confident that the government will respond to all the questions asked”, said European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. “We are in permanent contact with the Turkish government. We think that the situation is improving but that there is still room for manoeuvre. The most important thing is to have a close dialogue”, said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. He reiterated that Turkey, as an EU candidate country, “is committed to respecting the political accession criteria, including the application of the rule of law and the separation of powers”. “It is important not to go backwards on the achievements and to ensure that the judicial system is up to operating without discrimination or preferences, in a transparent and impartial way”, he added.
On Wednesday 22 January, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle will meet Turkey's Minister for European Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu - a meeting which “offers the chance for a more detailed discussion on our suggestions concerning the draft law”, said Füle.
During their meeting, the Turkish and European leaders discussed Turkey's EU accession process more generally, the resolve to deepen their relations, visa liberalisation and the Cyprus issue (EUROPE will return to this). International relations, including Syria, were also discussed in the meetings.
Hollande in Turkey on 27-28 January. In Brussels on Tuesday 21 January for the launch of Serbia's EU accession negotiations (see other article), France's Minister for European Affairs Thierry Repentin said that the decision to open a new negotiation chapter with Turkey was “linked to a counterparty” and should be translated by tangible “signs” from Ankara. The visit of France's President François Hollande to Ankara and Istanbul on 27-28 January will be, in Repentin's view, the chance to address issues, such as the Cypriot and Armenian questions, respect for the rule of law, freedom of the press and the right to protest. With Turkey being “a pivotal country between the two worlds”, issues linked to security and immigration were also due to be discussed. France is still blocking four negotiating chapters unilaterally. (CG with MB/transl.fl)