EU SLAMS TURKEY IN DRAFT PROGRESS REPORT -PAPER

Reuters, UK
June 18 2006

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The EU criticises the Turkish military’s role
in politics, a lack of reform and minority rights and relations
with Cyprus in the draft of a progress report due later this year,
a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The European Union is due to publish a progress report on
Ankara’s entry bid in October or November, a year after the start
of negotiations, which turned frosty on Friday when Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan said he would sooner see talks suspended than make
concessions over Cyprus.

Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper cited EU sources on Sunday as saying the
first draft criticised Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to Cyprus,
as the EU demands, before the bloc lifts trade restrictions on Turkish
Cypriots in breakaway northern Cyprus.

The paper said the draft also notes a slowdown in political reform,
the military’s continuing influence over political institutions and
calls for more work for judicial independence and rights for women
and minorities.

It says conditions in the poor, mainly Kurdish southeast, where
security forces are fighting separatist guerrillas, have deteriorated
and criticises relations with traditional enemies and neighbours
Greece and Armenia.

The European Commission’s enlargement spokeswoman, Krisztina Nagy,
said the report was still a long way off. "I don’t think a consolidated
draft report exists at this stage. In any case it is much too early
to speculate on its content," she said.

The newspaper said the draft would be amended, but the sources did
not expect many fundamental changes.

"This is standard EU criticism of Turkey," said an official in Brussels
who asked not to be named. "It was present in last year’s report and
it is likely to be in this year’s report."

EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday replied to Erdogan’s
Cyprus comments by calling on Turkey to let shipping from the tiny
Mediterranean island use Turkish ports this year.

Last week Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted
as saying membership talks should be frozen if Turkey does not open
its ports this year.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has said Turkey, which is not
expected to join the wealthy bloc until 2015 at the earliest, could
be heading for a "train crash" in its accession process and has urged
Ankara to step up reforms.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress