By Anne-France White - 2nd October 2006
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister has kicked off an EU charm offensive in Brussels amid warnings that Ankara must speed up key reforms in order to join.
“Turkish accession will be a real step forward for the EU,” Abdullatif Sener said on Tuesday at an event organised by Turkey’s Tusiad business organisation.
The event was designed to convince the EU public of the benefits of Turkish accession, and marks the first anniversary of the opening of Ankara’s EU membership talks.
It also comes on the eve of the European commission’s report on Turkey’s progress, due out on November 8, and warnings that Ankara could be heading for a “train crash”.
Other speakers at the event – such as British politician Jack Straw who oversaw the start of Turkey’s accession talks as foreign secretary under the British EU presidency – insisted that Turkey, with its young population and dynamic economy, will be a real asset for the EU.
They emphasised that the country is experiencing strong economic growth and has seen a tenfold increase in foreign investment since the launch of the EU negotiations.
Arguing that “Turkey can help ensure that the EU is a true global actor”, Tusiad chairman Omer Sabanci said his country would create jobs for European citizens.
“The Turkish people will not go to the EU to find jobs,” Sabanci said. “It is the Europeans who will come to Turkey to find jobs.”
Straw, who is now the leader of the British house of commons, said: “Some in the EU are not convinced about Turkish accession, but we should be bold in telling them that they are wrong.”
Several contentious issues in recent months, however, have threatened to derail Turkey’s EU bid.
Michael Leigh, the commission’s director general for enlargement, noted the country’s progress but emphasised that Ankara must make headway on freedom of speech, terrorism and the Cyprus issue if it is to accede.
“Turkey must open its ports to ships flying all flags, including that of Cyprus,” Leigh said.
Turkey, which has no diplomatic relations with the island’s Greek Cypriot government, has so far resisted EU pressure to open its ports to Cypriot planes and ships as part of its customs union with the EU.
Leigh also insisted that Turkey must amend article 301 of its penal code, which sets out penalties for insulting the Turkish republic, its officials or “Turkishness”.
The article has been used to trigger 70 cases against journalists, authors, publishers and citizen activists in the country so far and is seen as a major hurdle to Turkish accession.
Speaking in Ankara on October 3, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn made it very clear that the article must be repealed if the negotiations are to succeed.
“The judicial proceedings have a chilling effect and damage the important work carried out by journalists, intellectuals and activists,” Rehn said.
“It is high time that Turkey brings the penal code into line with the European convention on human rights.”
“Every new court case is a defeat for me and for the other European politicians who are fighting for Turkish accession,” MEP Joost Lagendijk, the chair of the joint parliamentary assembly with Turkey, said in Brussels.
In his Ankara speech, Rehn also expressed concern about recent amendments to Turkey’s anti-terror law, saying it could have a “restrictive impact upon the fundamental freedoms of Turkish citizens”, as the law “defines terrorism far too widely and vaguely”.
But Rehn also addressed the speculation triggered by commission president José Manuel Barroso’s recent remark that the EU should not accept any new members until it resolves the future of its stalled constitution.
“While we prepare internally for a new institutional settlement, the gradual and carefully managed accession process continues with the countries of southeastern Europe, that is, Bulgaria and Romania, Turkey and Croatia, and other Western Balkans countries,” he said.
“We are cautious about taking on any new commitments, but we stick to our existing commitments to these countries.”
Rehn also ended his Ankara speech on a note of optimism, insisting that “we have a common goal to counter the pessimists and avoid train crash”.
“Nothing is predetermined,” he argued. “With political will we can turn the tide and pave the way for Turkey’s accession to the EU.”
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