Reuters, UK
April 26 2005
Turkey must push reforms ahead of entry talks-EU
LUXEMBOURG, Apr 25 (Reuters) Turkey must do more to push through
political reforms ahead of its planned membership talks with the
European Union later this year, EU foreign ministers agreed today
ahead of talks with their Turkish counterpart.
The ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, expressed concern about the
lack of progress on religious freedom and minority rights, and called
on the Ankara government to ensure full civilian control of Turkey’s
powerful military.
They also called for an early signing of an agreement extending
Turkey’s customs union with the EU to all new member states, saying
it would be ”an important step towards normalisation of the
relations between Turkey and all EU member states, including the
Republic of Cyprus”.
EU leaders agreed last December to open talks with Turkey on Oct.
3, but also set firm conditions for starting negotiations, saying
Turkey had to see through reforms to ensure it met the bloc’s
standards on democracy, rule of law and civil liberties.
”It is a very clear message that Turkey has to move on many fronts
and on many issues,” Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou told
Reuters.
”A lot of the laws that have been enacted are an empty letter for
the time being, because they have not been put into effect, this is
in particular in respect for human rights, the rights of minorities
and so on,” he said.
EU and Turkish ministers will hold regular talks tomorrow to discuss
Ankara’s progress towards membership of the 25-nation bloc.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said he and his Dutch
colleague had also requested that EU president Luxembourg urge Ankara
to ”reassess its past concerning the Armenian genocide”.
Armenia wants Turkey to admit that the killing of up to 1.5 million
Armenians 90 years ago in Ottoman Turkey was genocide.
Turkey denies this, saying the numbers were smaller and Armenians
were among many victims of a partisan war that also claimed many
Muslim Turkish lives.
Turkey’s planned EU entry talks has moved the dispute up the
political agenda. France, home to an influential, 400,000-strong
Armenian community, has promised to seek a Turkish admission of
genocide, although Barnier said this would arise at some point in a
long negotiating process, not as a prior condition.
In a paper outlining what Turkey needs to do, the EU expressed
”serious concerns” about cases of torture still occurring and
called on Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan’s government to enforce a
zero-tolerance policy to eradicate ill-treatment.
The EU also expressed concern about a lack of freedom of expression
and said more should be done to boost the rights of Turkey’s Kurdish
and Roma minorities.
The ministers said the Turkish army continued to exercise influence
in politics through ”informal mechanisms”, adding that Erdogan had
to do more to control the military.
”He has to decide whether he really controls the military or he
doesn’t,” Iacovou said.
The EU paper also urged Turkey to carry out unfulfilled commitments
including enforcing intellectual property rights, removing
discriminatory laws, reducing state aid to industry and allowing
Cypriot vessels to dock in Turkish ports.