ON ROAD TO MEMBERSHIP, EU WANTS MORE POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS REFORM IN TURKEY
armradio.am
14.10.2009 18:11
The European Union told Turkey on Wednesday to speed up reforms to
boost its chances of joining the bloc and made a special appeal to
protect the freedom of expression of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.
The European Commission’s annual progress report on Turkish membership
said Ankara has improved its handling of human rights issues and the
Kurdish minority. But it said that overall, a lot more work needed
to be done for membership.
The report did not yet take on board Turkey’s recent moves to end a
century of enmity with neighboring Armenia, a new momentum which has
been welcomed around the world and which EU Enlargement Commissioner
Olli Rehn also highlighted.
"I’m encouraged by the historic steps Turkey and Armenia have just
taken toward normalizing their relations. This process should now lead
to full normalization as soon as possible," Rehn said in a statement,
AP reported.