| OLLI REHN | Member of the European Commission, Responsible for Enlargement |
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"ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY:FULFILLING THE CRITERIA" |
As a first step, in the so-called screening process, the Commission and Turkey analyse in detail the laws and policies of the EU and compare them with the legislation of Turkey. This will allow us to find out in which areas Turkey needs to focus efforts in order to align with the EU legislation.
The accession negotiations are about determining how and when Turkey will adopt the EU acquis; the process is not on whether Turkey will adopt it. Each and every country, large or small, must meet the criteria to the letter. There are no shortcuts to Europe, only the regular route.
Two months have passed since the historic decision of 3 October. We rightly celebrated it as the start of a new era for Turkey, Europe and the whole world. But the party is over, and now comes the time of delivery.
I will be fair and frank. In our Progress Report published on 9 November, the Commission concluded that Turkey continues to sufficiently fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria. It is fair to say that Turkey has conducted bold and significant legislative reforms in the last years, which have now entered into force. But it is unfortunately as fair and frank to say that the pace of changes has slowed in 2005 and the implementation of the reforms remains uneven, to say the least.
Human rights violations continue to occur. The new laws that in principle enhance the rule of law and human rights, must be duly implemented on the ground. In some areas new legislative initiatives must be taken. Most importantly, significant further efforts are required on fundamental freedoms and human rights, particularly on freedom of expression, women’s rights, religious freedoms, trade union rights, cultural rights and the zero tolerance policy against torture and ill-treatment.
Hence we expect Turkey to tackle the significant shortcomings without delay, in line with the revised Accession Partnership, submitted to the Council on 9 November. The partnership, once adopted, will provide a roadmap for the reforms. Let me highlight some of the short-term political priorities from the Accession Partnership to illustrate the point.
Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, must be fully guaranteed in line with the European Convention of Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The recent prosecutions of novelists such as Orhan PAMUK, journalists such as Hrant DİNK and Burak BEKDİL, academics such as Professors Oran and Kaboglu, and publishers such as Fatih TAS and Ragip ZARAKOLU, are of particularly serious concern in this context.
They confirm that a number of vaguely worded articles, such as article 301, of the new Penal Code are being used to prosecute and, in some cases, convict, individuals for expressing non-violent opinions. It should be made clear to prosecutors that Article 301 of the new Penal Code should be interpreted in line with the European Convention of Human Rights. In parallel, we expect that the Turkish Government considers amending the Code to close such loopholes that give too much room of discretion for anti-European interpretations of freedom of expression.
Second: Turkey needs to implement legislation relating to women’s rights, particularly the Civil Code, the new penal code and the law on the protection of the family.
Third: Non-Muslim religious minorities and communities face difficulties that must be addressed through a new law on Foundations, in line with the relevant European standards.
Fourth: We expect Turkey to implement the measures adopted in the context of the zero tolerance policy against torture and ill-treatment.
And fifth: Turkey needs to ensure that full trade union rights are respected in line of EU standards and relevant ILO conventions. This concerns in particular the right to organise, the right to strike and the right to bargain collectively. The case of the Teacher’s Union Egitim Sen is a litmus test in this regard, and should be addressed accordingly.
Let me clarify one essential point concerning the philosophy of accession negotiations. They proceed on two parallel tracks, and there must be serious progress on both of them. The first and the most essential and important track is the reforms and their implementation on the ground. It has primacy in our consideration. The progress of reforms determines to a large extent the progress on the second track, namely the legislative and technical conduct of accession negotiations themselves.
If progress in the reforms were to stall or slow down, this would affect the overall climate of the negotiations, and there would be neither need nor meaning for negotiations on policy chapters either. That would be a great shame, but it is now in the hands of Turkey. We need to see concrete progress early on in the negotiations on the short term priorities under the political criteria to make meaningful progress in the technical negotiations on the acquis communautaire.
Clearly, our 2005 report raises serious concerns. We cannot end up making a similar assessment next year in our 2006 report without that having very damaging ramifications for the conduct of the negotiations. By starting accession negotiations with Turkey the EU kept its word and laid its trust on the continuation of the transformation of Turkey. It is now up to Turkey to demonstrate a real sense of ownership of the reforms.
Turkey’s EU membership perspective attracts considerable attention and raises many legitimate questions amongst European public opinion. I am also aware that the Turkish public is asking many questions about the EU. The Commission is ready to assist Turkey in efforts to improve mutual understanding with the EU and to overcome misperceptions. This is the purpose of our initiative on the “civil society dialogue”.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome your strong support during the months of preparation of the communication on the civil society dialogue. Your opinion, recently adopted, shows that we share the same view on the need to establish a dialogue, and provides valuable insights that we will take in due consideration.
The Commission is now widely consulting on this initiative. We expect that civil society organisations both in the EU and in Turkey will participate in this dialogue. As far as our financial support is concerned, most new activities will be funded through grants following open calls for proposals under the EU-Turkey pre-accession assistance programme.
During the first year, we envisage to concentrate on some selected priorities. Although these have not yet been finalised, I can anticipate that NGOs - and particularly women’s NGOs - twinning between municipalities, and youth and universities will be among them. We expect to have the first calls for proposals published in the first half of 2006.
Turkey’s best asset to gain support in public opinion in the EU will be to show unambiguous commitment to democratic transformation and European values. I am convinced that Turkey’s progress in implementing the impressive reform programme set out in the Accession Partnership will have a great impact on European opinion.
I count on the support of the Turkish citizens and the Turkish civil society as a whole to put all their weight behind the reforms - and thus to contribute to make the European project of Turkey a success story.