EU says 2009 is litmus test for Turkey’s entry bid
Turkey must overcome internal divisions and get back to long-delayed reforms early next year to show it is serious about wanting to join the European Union, the bloc's enlargement chief said.
"Next year will be an important litmus test of whether Turkey is serious about its EU accession perspective," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in an interview with the Reuters news agency. "After one or two years of domestic difficulties, we would expect Turkey now to put up a new gear and seriously start to pursue the reforms again."
Turkey began accession negotiations in 2005 but has made slow progress. Analysts say political distractions at home and a lack of appetite for further enlargement among EU states have pushed the EU agenda to the back burner.
Turkish society has long been divided over the role of religion in an officially secular but predominantly Muslim country. Turkey narrowly avoided a crisis this year over a public prosecutor's attempt to have the Constitutional Court ban the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). "I am aware of the dilemmas of the Turkish society in relation with the more secular and more religious lifestyles. It is essential that Turkish society find a modus vivendi," Rehn said. "There is too much energy used on internal tensions which could be used for pursuing legal and economic reforms that are required for EU membership."
He said it was key for Turkey to reform its constitution and improve freedom of expression and religious and linguistic rights to be in line with EU standards. He said trade unions and business federations were blocking a trade union law essential to the EU accession process.
Rehn urged Turkey to get to business quickly. "The sooner the better, but at the latest after the March elections, Turkey should totally resume the reforms again," he said.
'2009 must be year of Cyprus deal'
2009 must be the year of a comprehensive settlement for the divided island of Cyprus, the enlargement chief also said, urging all parties, and in particular Turkey, to step up efforts.
Rehn said all parties should work to create a "win-win situation" for the two communities. "We are not in the business of pressure. We are in the business of facilitation," he told Reuters. "It's important for everybody, but Turkey is one of the key stakeholders. … They have supported the process, yes, but it is important that we all intensify our political support for a settlement."
EU officials have said privately that progress in the Cyprus reunification process next year will be essential to move Turkey's slow-moving EU accession talks forward.
"I hope that next year will be the year of Cyprus and its comprehensive settlement," Rehn said. "We need … to reunify the island so that Cyprus could be like a normal EU member state, in peace, united."
Greek Cypriots represent the island in the European Union, which they joined in 2004.
"Next year will be a crucial window of opportunity for that," he said. "That's why we will certainly invest all resources, all mental and personal resources that are needed to bring that support." Peace efforts in Cyprus collapsed in 2004 when Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification blueprint accepted by Turkish Cypriots.
Rehn said it was important that the talks continue to be driven by the leaders of the two parts of the island, but that the EU was ready to bring as much legal and technical support as required by the two parties or the United Nations.
22 December 2008, Monday
