By Henrietta Billings - 16th June 2004
The European Commission has welcomed recent reforms in Turkey, but warned that Ankara still has more work to do before negotiations on EU entry can begin.
Speaking at a conference in Brussels on Thursday, EU enlargement chief Gunter Verheugen praised recent developments including improvements in civil liberties and human rights.
"Issues whose mention could previously trigger criminal proceedings, such as the role of the military, the Kurdish language, or cases of torture and ill-treatment, are now freely debated".
"The reform process has brought a new mood of openness and freedom in public debate in Turkey", said Vergheugen.
But the Commissioner warned that Turkey had a lot of work to do in terms of reforming the judiciary and the penal code.
He also pointed out continuing human rights concerns that need addressing, ranging from the torture of prisoners and intimidation of people involved with the defence of human rights.
This point was highlighted in April by the European Parliament who cited a litany of concerns ranging from the influence of the army on politics to continuing torture practices.
And several leading centre-right parliamentarians spoke strongly against granting Turkey full membership.
EU leaders decided at a Copenhagen summit in 2002 that formal talks could begin if Turkey met a series of political, economic and judicial reforms and made improvements in the country’s human rights situation.
The European Commission will make a recommendation to national capitals in October as to whether Ankara has reached its goals.
European Leaders will then decide in December, based on findings from the Commission, whether or not to formally open accession negotiations with Turkey.
This process, Verheugen warned, would be lengthy.
"If the European Council decides to open negotiations with Turkey accession is not a formality, and not for tomorrow. The negotiations will take time, reflecting the scale of the difficulties in many sectors faced by such a large and complex country."
But he stressed that the basis of the report would be the same as for the countries which entered the EU on May 1.
"There should be no doubts that the report will be fair and objective."
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.