Brussels, 06/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - EU Commissioners' heads of cabinet met on Monday afternoon to finalise the nine reports the European Commission will be adopting on 8 November, namely the regular reports on Turkey and Croatia; progress reports on Western Balkans countries - Serbia (with a separate report on Kosovo), Montenegro, Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Bosnia Herzegovina; and the report on EU's enlargement strategy, with a special annex on the EU's absorption capacity.
For Turkey, the main criticisms outlined in the report have already been aired by Commissioner Olli Rehn himself, in a speech in Ankara on 3 October, for example (see EUROPE 9278 of 4 October): the fact that the reform process in Turkey has slowed down over the last twelve months and freedom of speech is still not guaranteed because of vague Article 301 of the penal code making 'insulting Turkish national identity' a crime (under which dozens of reporters and writers have been taken to court, including Nobel Prize for Literature winner, novelist Orhan Pamuk). The Commission is demanding the annulment or amendment of Article 301. Last weekend, giving the importance of this issue in the Commission's report, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was 'open' to amending Article 301, saying that if problems arose due to the abstract nature of Article 301, he was open to proposals to made the article less abstract, adding that he was studying various options to bring Article 301 into line with the spirit and letter of reform. On Monday, the European Commission welcomed his statements, with Commissioner Rehn's spokesperson saying that Erdogan's statement showed that the Turkish prime minister was personally committed to freedom of speech and Turkey joining the EU. The spokesperson added that the Commission expected the statement to be followed up with tangible action and expected concrete decisions. In its 8 November report, the Commission is also expected to criticise lack of protection for the property of non-Muslim religious communities, gaps in protecting women's and trade union rights and lack of an overall strategy for social and economic development in south-east Turkey.
The other big problem highlighted in the Commission's report on Turkey is Turkey's refusal to implement the Ankara Protocol extending Customs Union to Cyprus. The Ankara Protocol was signed by Turkey on 29 July 2005 but more than a year after the opening of accession negotiations, the Commission will note in its report that Turkey has not yet allowed Cypriot ships and aircraft to access its ports and airports. In a statement on 21 September 2005, paving the way for opening accession negotiations with Turkey, Member States stressed the importance of Turkey applying the entire Ankara Protocol without discrimination to Cyprus. The Member States also decided that the EU would make an assessment in 2006 to decide whether the Ankara Protocol was being fully implemented. The 21 September 2005 statement notes that Turkey's failure to respect all its obligations would have an impact on progress in the negotiations overall.
The 'descriptive' part of the report is almost complete, but the Commissioners themselves need to decide on political conclusions at their weekly meeting on Wednesday, explain Commission sources. Several options are on the table, including partial suspension of the accession talks. This would mean that the opening of a number of chapters directly connected with Customs Union would be on ice until Turkey applies the Ankara Protocol. The European Commission is in a tight spot because it does not want to recommend radical measure that could jeopardise the Finnish Presidency's continuing attempts to find an overall solution to settle the Ankara Protocol issue and end the trade isolation of Cyprus' Turkish community (see EUROPE 9299). On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she foresaw a 'very serious situation' in terms of continuing accession negotiations if Turkey refuses to apply the Ankara Protocol. (hb)