EU TELLS ANKARA TO SPEED UP REFORMS

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
Reuters
Sept 27 2006

Strasbourg, France: The European Parliament on Wednesday warned Turkey
that it must speed up far-reaching reforms if it wants to join the
European Union.

EU lawmakers adopted a highly critical, non-binding report which
accused Ankara of failing to live up to promises it made to win the
green light from EU leaders to start talks last October on joining
the bloc.

"The European Parliament … regrets the slowing down of the reform
process," the report said.

It said Turkey had shown "insufficient progress" on freedom of
expression, religious and minority rights, women’s rights and the
rule of law since the start of accession talks.

It demanded Turkey fulfil its obligation to open its ports and airports
to EU member Cyprus under a customs agreement. But parliament voted to
delete a clause which would have sought to make recognition by Ankara
of the mass killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as "genocide"
a precondition.