Cyprus-Forum.com

[joe]

EU rebukes Turkey but will not suspend membership talks
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08/11/2006

The European Commission issued a critical report on Turkey Wednesday, stopping short of suspending EU membership talks but telling Ankara to make progress on key issues, especially Cyprus, or face the consequences.

In a much-anticipated annual report on Turkey's progress on EU reforms, the commission highlighted human rights problems, including the use of torture and women's and minority issues.

But the thorny issue of Cyprus, an EU member, is most likely to scupper Turkey's ambitions.

"The commission will make relevant recommendations ahead of the (14-15) December European Council (EU summit), if Turkey has not fulfilled its obligations," the European Union's executive arm said in its report.

"No progress has been made on any aspects of normalising bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus," it said, warning that "failure to implement its obligations in full will affect the overall progress in the negotiations".

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn would not be drawn on what recommendations the commission might make, but insisted that a "win-win" solution was possible.

"I have urged EU member states to ... support the Finnish formula," Rehn said as the report was released, "this is likely to be the last opportunity to make serious progress in the years to come."

Finland's initiative to break the impasse includes the resumption of trade at the port of Famagusta, in Turkish northern Cyprus, and the transfer to United Nations control of the ghost town of Varosha, a suburb of Famagusta, formerly inhabited by Greek Cypriots.

Speaking shortly before the release of the report Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised "negative campaigns" in his country against the EU, but refused to back down on Cyprus.

Turkey refuses to open its air and sea ports to vessels of the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government that controls the south of the divided island, despite a protocol it signed extending a customs deal to all other members of the 25 nation bloc it is seeking to join.

"We said, 'Don't expect any ports from us unless you end the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'," Erdogan told repoprters in Ankara.

Cyprus, like all EU nations, can veto enlargement decisions.

"What we want is not that Turkey doesn't continue the accession process," a Cypriot spokesperson in Brussels said. "Our goal is that it continues but it has to satisfy the rules and for the moment it doesn't satisfy the rules."

The commission said that while Ankara had made limited progress in some areas, including the fight against corruption and in foreign and security policies, too often legislative reforms were not matched by implementation.

"The pace of reforms has slowed during the past year," it said.

Also the Turkish armed forces "have continued to exercise significant political influence".

On corruption it was equally clear: "Corruption remains widespread in the Turkish public sector and judiciary, despite the efforts in recent years."

There was more criticism over the human rights situation and of Article 301 of the Turkish penal code which penalises insulting Turkishness and the state.

While stating that freedom of religion and worship "continues to be generally accepted" persisting problems were highlighted, including legal and property restrictions on non-Muslim communities.

It also highlights discrimination against the Alevi and Roma minorities.

Turkey also has a long way to go on women's and children's rights, the report said, with the birth of girls not registered in parts of the southeast of the country.

Straddled between the Middle East and Europe, Turkey is seen as a strategic point of influence for the Muslim world and its EU candidacy has been strongly backed by the United States and Britain.

But countries like Austria, France and Germany would prefer a "privileged partnership" for Turkey to full membership.

[souroul]

the us and britain can kiss my ass. not because they back the turks, but because they go against what they believe in just because they may have something to gain. fuck that shit.

the uk and us might as well make a UKS union by themselves. they both dont give a damn about the eu, and thats fucked up on england's part.

[humanist]

The saddest thing about the whole situation is that innocent people such as Cypriots living in the north of Cyprus, Cypriot refugees and the regular guy in Turkey are paying the price of political games.

Cypriots living in the north of Cyprus although EU citizens do not get to enjoy the fruits of being members of the EU because they choose to support an illegal regime governed by Turkish troops. regardless of what Cypriotrs of the North believe the reality is that Turkey is running that show.

Cypriot refugees are paying the same price they have paid for the past three decades because they are deprived of the properties, achivements and livelyhood not to mention the right to live where they choose too.

The everyday lay person in Turkey who would benefit from EU membership because of a government that is unwilling to follow simple EU laws, guidelines, expectations and regulations.

Souroul I hear your anger and frustration and rightly so. It's a pitty olive oil cannot run machnery otherwise the Cyprus problem would have been solved and between north and south there's alot of olive oil. Sorry sometimes you gotta laugh at a situation.

I fail to undertsand how twoi sides who want the same thing cannot get it. The majority of Cypriots living in the North voted yes to Unification. Cypriots in the South want Unification but your leaders and even some of you cannot get it together enought to come up with an improved Unification plan. That is laughable.