EU LAWMAKERS TRY CARROT, RATHER THAN STICK, APPROACH WITH TURKEY

Agence France Presse
Oct 3 2007

BRUSSELS (AFP) – Members of the European Parliament changed tack
with Turkey Wednesday, preferring praise to the harsh criticism of
the past to try to encourage Ankara’s efforts at EU-oriented reform.

The complete change of tone comes in a new parliamentary report,
released exactly two years after Turkey began its often-torturous
membership talks with the European Union.

"Every critical point is mentioned in the report but the language is
different to keep the dialogue with Turkey," said Dutch Christian
Democrat MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten, who compiled the report for the
assembly.

"We want to have solutions rather than judgement," she said.

In their last report a year ago, the deputies deplored the lack of
reform progress and in a resolution criticised Turkey’s rights record,
laws infringing freedom of speech and Ankara’s refusal to acknowledge
the Armenian genocide.

This time there is praise for the recent election process as "a sign
of strength of the Turkish democracy".

Turkey categorically rejects Armenian claims that 1.5 million of
their kinsmen died in systematic deportations and killings during
1915-1918 as the Ottoman Empire was breaking up.

The word "genocide" is dropped from the non-binding report and
replaced by a call for "the Turkish and the Armenian government to
start a process of reconciliation for the present and the past …"

"It’s a good method," said European Commission expert Jean-Christophe
Filori.

"Turkey has just come out of a very difficult political crisis,
one in which it managed to reaffirm the respect for democracy. This
report strikes the right tone of encouragement," he said.

In a sign that others share the opinion of rapporteur Oomen-Ruijten,
the parliament’s foreign affairs committee adopted the document by
48 votes for, none against and four abstentions.

Even old foe Cyprus appeared to have been won over.

"It’s the first time there’s been a debate on Turkey without the
smell of brimstone," said Greek Cypriot MEP Marios Matsakis, after
debate on the report late Tuesday.

Cyprus, along with France and Austria, has been among the toughest
critics of mainly Muslim Turkey’s quest to join the European bloc
and has been locked in a trade dispute with Ankara that has damaged
its membership progress.

Turkey and Croatia were officially made candidates to join the EU two
years ago, but Croatia’s progress has far outstripped that of Turkey.

Ankara has been given no guarantee that it will be allowed to enter the
club when the membership negotiations end, at least a decade from now.

It remains to be seen whether the entire European parliament will adopt
the new softly-softly approach at a plenary session from October 22,
and whether the European Commission will follow suit in its key annual
on November 6.