Turkey steps up EU offensive
EUPolitix.com, Belgium
Wed, 20 Sep 2006
Turkey will step up efforts to win over MEPs a decision to delay
publication of the European commission’s progress report on the pace
of Ankara’s reforms.
EU officials have delayed a highly sensitive assessment of Turkey’s
EU entry negotiations until November 8, the report was originally
due for publication on October 24.
European parliament political fixers are also looking for delay,
say sources, to head off a Strasbourg plenary vote attacking Turkey’s
record.
Sources close to negotiations indicate that the commission’s delay
will give Ankara more time to lobby over a critical report on Turkey
from Dutch MEP Camiel Eurlings.
"The Eurlings report is the most critical parliamentary report yet. It
contains 80 paragraphs and about 75 are critical," a parliament
official told this website.
"And it looks like it would get backed. Eurlings has supporters within
the centre-right and the socialists."
But moves are afoot within the parliament’s corridors of power to
kill a September 27 vote on the Eurlings findings.
Socialist MEPs – the centre-left is the parliament’s second biggest
bloc – will use a Thursday meeting of political group and committee
leaders to push for delay.
"The Eurlings report is a mess. It has been very heavily amended and
is too negative," said a source.
The Dutch right winger’s report says Turkey must recognise the Armenian
genocide as a precondition for EU entry.
His report laments a "slowdown in democratic reforms" and calls
on Ankara to remove or amend articles that allowed judges to limit
freedom of expression as well as normalise relations with Cyprus.
A delegation of MPs from Turkey recently branded the European
parliament’s findings as "nasty and negative".
The commission says its decision to delay its progress report on Turkey
is not a political one, and was motivated purely by administrative
constraints.
Reports on Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro,
Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will also now
be published on November 8.