ENEKO LANDABURU EC-General Director for Enlargement AB Genişlemeden Sorumlu Genel Direktör EU-Turkey Relations Turkey is now fully involved in the Enlargement process as a candidate country, and the process of preparing for accession is essentially the same for Turkey as for all candidate countries. Ishould perhaps start by saying that the European Commission is continuing to closely monitor the economic situation in Turkey. A new economic plan is now in place, which has been drawn up to lead Turkey out of the present difficulties. The Commission encourages the Turkish Government to hold firm in its commitment to this plan, and to push forward its implementation in all areas. This will not only help Turkey the recession it is now facing but also accelerate its preparation for EU membership. PRE-ACCESSION STRATEGY The implementation of the pre-accession strategy for Turkey agreed at the Helsinki European Council is well underway. ENHANCED POLITICAL DIALOGUE A central part of the pre-accession strategy is enhanced political dialogue, which has been taking place throughout the Swedish Presidency. The EU/Turkey Association Council of 26 June 2001 is the opportunity to pursue this dialogue, including human rights, Cyprus and border issues. Human rights The overall human rights situation in Turkey still causes considerable concern. There are still serious shortcomings in this area - including in fighting torture, and in ensuring freedom of association, freedom of expression and cultural rights. Concrete measures should be taken, and where appropriate structural deficiencies should be addressed, to ensure there is improvement. The situation in the Turkish prisons is very much a matter of concern. The visit of the EP delegation to Turkey at the beginning of June was of the utmost importance. The Commission shares most of the findings of the delegation, which underline that from a humanitarian point of view urgent action is needed to end further loss of life. We believe that a way should be found to enter dialogue about the implementation of the new package of prison reforms with the representatives of the inmates, without supporting in any way the political views of those who are behind the hunger strikes. Cyprus With respect to Cyprus, the European Commission is of the opinion that the UN sponsored process should resume as soon as possible. Like all other parties, Turkey has an important role to play in ensuring positive results in the months ahead. There is now a window of opportunity for settlement of this issue, which should be used. Mr DENKTA? should be encouraged to reengage in the UN process, and bicommunal projects should be implemented. Turkey has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to support the efforts of the Secretary General of the United Nations and, we trust, this support will encourage all parties concerned to move towards a solution. Border issues The European Commission welcomes the recent improved relations between Greece and Turkey in various fields, which led to a number of confidence-building measures. These improvements should help achieve the objectives outlined in the Helsinki conclusions. ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP An Accession Partnership with Turkey has been adopted which sets out short and medium term priorities. It covers enhanced political dialogue, political and economic accession criteria and the points on which Turkey needs to comply with the Community acquis. Analytical examination of the acquis Subcommittees under the Association Committee are monitoring the implementation of these priorities. These committees are preparing the analytical examination of the acquis which indicates the degree of alignment achieved by Turkey and the areas where further efforts are needed. This process is now well underway, and a second round of the meetings will be completed next months. Work is important in allowing a clearer understanding of the situation in the different policy sectors. The objectives and requirements of our policies have been explained, and the Turkish side have become familiar with the content of the acquis. The overall state of alignment of Turkey's legislation is uneven, given that work has only recently begun in many sectors. The Commission recommends that Turkey should undertake a careful scheduling of the different steps needed, in the right order of priority. Attention should also be focused on ensuring sufficient administrative capacity and proper enforcement. Judicial reform is very important in this context. In line with the conclusions of the Feira European Council, the EC will report to the Council in November on the results of this preparatory work. Any recommendations will be part of the Enlargement Strategy Paper 2001. National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) The National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis provides a wide-ranging agenda of political and economical reforms. Nonetheless, on some issues, such as the death penalty, cultural rights and the role of the National Security Council (NSC), the NPAA falls short of meeting Accession Partnership priorities. In other areas, we would have liked more details. This is particularly the case with freedom of expression, the fight against torture and efforts to improve the functioning of the judiciary. We are looking into ways to develop our dialogue on the implementation of the National Programme. The economic part of the NPAA coincides with the new economic plan for Turkey. Many of the legislative measures proposed in that plan have been adopted. Successful implementation of these measures will have also a positive effect on preparations for EU membership. The present document is a useful inventory of measures but further prioritisation of actions and timetables is needed, as, I believe, the Turkish government acknowledges. Financial co-operation and Community programmes The Commission has proposed that all assistance to Turkey is granted under a single financial Regulation according to uniform procedures. All assistance will be used in support of the pre-accession priorities for Turkey. It is expected that the European Parliament will shortly start its deliberations on this proposal. The aim is to implement this new framework for financial assistance by the beginning of next year. The Commission has also made a political commitment to doubling the level of financial assistance for the remaining part of the financial perspective. The Commission welcomes the decision of the Turkish Government to strengthen the institutional mechanisms relating to the management of external financial assistance. The Commission will provide further training to the National Aid Co-ordinator and related bodies. These new structures, which are identical to those in other candidates, needs to be operational as soon as possible so that we can work together effectively. The Council has recently given a mandate for the Commission to negotiate a framework agreement for the participation of Turkey in Community programmes. This will simplify and accelerate the procedures needed for participation in each programme. The EP will soon be consulted on this framework agreement. Turkey needs to set up the necessary administrative structures to manage these programmes within the country. FINAL The Commission is very much looking forward to Turkey's next steps in implementing the pre-accession strategy and in particular the NPAA. The Turkish Parliament also has an important role to play in this respect. The Commission is confident that, with the support of the European Parliament, considerable progress can be made in the months ahead towards attaining our common objectives. ENEKO LANDABURU: "AB-TÜRKİYE İLİŞKİLERİ" Türkiye aday ülke olarak "Genişleme Sürecine" katılmış bulunmaktadır. Tam üyelik hazırlıkları da diğer aday ülkelerle aynı seyri takip edecektir. Avrupa Komisyonu Türkiye'deki ekonomik durumu yakından izlemekte ve ülkeyi içinde bulunduğu güçlüklerden kurtarmak amacıyla oluşturulan yeni ekonomik planın uygulanmasını teşvik etmektedir. Bu planın her alanda yürürlüğe konması hem Türkiye'yi krizden kurtarmakta rol oynayacak, hem de AB üyeliği için yaptığı hazırlıkları hızlandıracaktır. Son dönemde Helsinki'de Türkiye için oluşturulan üyelik öncesi stratejinin uygulanmasında önemli yol katedilmiştir. İsveç'in dönem başkanlığı sırasında Türkiye ile AB arasındaki siyasi diyalogun artırılması yolunda önemli adımlar atılmış, insan hakları, Kıbrıs ve sınır meseleleri AB/Türkiye Ortaklık Konseyi'nde ele alınmıştır. Türkiye ile AB arasında oluşturulan Üyelik Ortaklığı siyasi diyalogun artırılması, siyasi ve ekonomik üyelik kriterlerinin belirlenmesi ve Türkiye'nin Topluluk müktesebatında uyum sağlaması gereken noktaların saptanması gibi konuları içermektedir. Müktesebatın benimsenmesine yönelik ulusal programın oluşturulması da Türkiye'nin üyelik sürecinde önemli yere sahiptir. Avrupa Komisyonu önümüzdeki aylarda ortak amaçlara yönelik önemli adımlar atılacağı inancını taşımaktadır.