Brussels, 07/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - Reactions by ms to the proposal to them on Wednesday by the European Commission to allow accession negotiations with Turkey to open on 17 December, varied from enthusiasm to caution. No-one was against it. Not all the leaders have responded and discussions could be heated up to the European Council, as underlined by the demand of many French MEPs to get their parliament to speak on the issue before 17 December. The enthusiasm of British, German and Swedish leaders was tempered by the scepticism expressed by Denmark and Austria, who highlighted the fact that opening negotiations did not guarantee accession. The Cypriot Republic pointed to the need for the division of the island with the Turkish part to be resolved. The Turkish authorities welcomed the "historic decision" but prime minister Recep Erdogan on a visit to the Council of Europe, criticised the safeguard and suspension clauses proposed by the Commission, and asked for Turkey to be treated the same as the other candidate countries (p 6).
Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who will be presiding the European Council in the first half of 2005, highlighted the fact that Turkish accession "should be meticulously prepared so that neither the European Union nor Turkey suffered from the consequences of a badly prepared accession". The Luxembourg government also thinks that this should be an open process which does not have a result guaranteed in advance.
The Association of Turkish Entrepreneurs Tüsiad welcomed the Commission's decision as an "historical advance". Tüsiad, which has campaigned for a long time for Turkey's accession, points out that the Commission's report states that "Turkish accession would contribute significantly to the EU's political force, its economic competitiveness and social policies". European employers (UNICE) were more cautious and supported the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey if Member States decide that the political criteria of Copenhagen have been respected.
humanitarian n Rights Watch considers that the Commission's report is "correct" in is assessment of persistent torture cases but that it is not systematic. Human Rights Watch "welcomes the process advancing but is waiting for the Turkish government to put into place reliable police monitoring stations and "to put an end to torture", Jonathan Sugden, specialist in Turkey within the NGO, said.. Human Rights Watch calls upon the local authorities, prosecutors, doctors' associations and associations of lawyers to "urgently" undertake close surveillance of police stations followed by reports made public. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) considers for its part that "torture is wide-spread and systematic in Turkey".
The United States, which is putting on considerable pressure to have Turkey join the EU, welcomed the Commission's go-ahead to negotiations. A spokesman for the Trade Department said the United States would welcome a European Council decision in December to fix an early date for beginning talks.