MEPs highlight existing barriers to Turkish membership of EU

STRASBOURG – MEPs have said there are still serious obstacles in the way of Turkey’s prospects for EU membership.

Dutch EPP deputy Ria Oomen-Ruijten, author of parliament’s 2007 progress report on Turkey’s accession towards membership, was adamant that more had to be done.

"With this report, there is a strong message from the European parliament to Turkey that 2008 must be the year of reforms," she said in a press conference on Wednesday.

"It’s up to Turkey to come up with these reforms, it’s not up to us. It’s up to Turkey to show that, at some point, they want to be a member of the EU," she added.

Oomen-Ruijten was particularly concerned about recent political events in Turkey in which the state prosecutor has threatened to ban the ruling AKP party from office.

Turkey’s public prosecutor has filed a closure case against the AKP party, accusing it of encouraging anti-secular activities.

"We don’t know any other country where justice and public prosecutors are as independent as they are in Turkey. What worries me is that this closure case has nothing to do with the independence of justice, but it has to do with the impartiality of justice. There, I have unanswered questions," she said.

"If [state prosecutors] are impartial in the way we understand the rule of law in a democracy to be, and if today, public prosecutors, on behalf of the constitutional court, make such comments, I fear that the rule of law in Turkey is not in the place it should be," she added.

UK ALDE member Andrew Duff, vice-president of parliament’s Turkey delegation, added his voice to these concerns.

"The European Liberal message must be clear: if Turkey's supreme court goes on closing down democratic parties in Turkey, it will kill off all prospects of EU membership," he said in a press release.

Dutch Green MEP Joost Lagendijk said that parliament had a duty to put pressure on Turkey to change the situation.

"This parliament should continue to encourage reform but it should also criticise the authorities when reform doesn’t happen," he said in the debate on the progress report.

Oomen-Ruijten also criticised Turkey for a lack of constitutional reform which she said may have prevented the current political uncertainty.

"What I criticise is that if, in 2007 or at the beginning of this year, Turkey had come up with a new constitution in line with discussions they have had in civil society, it would have been much easier to prevent the attacks from the public prosecutor calling for the closure of the political parties," she said.

"In my view, from last September until now, they could have done more," she added.

During Wednesday morning's debate, enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said that given the current situation, the EU had to be realistic about Turkey’s membership credentials.

"The commission’s role can be described as the friend who tells the truth, even if the truth is unwelcome in some parts of the EU or Turkey," he said during the debate.

"Closing down a political party is clearly not business as usual"

"Turkey cannot afford another wasted year. We cannot have more oppression and regression," he added.

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