ECJ may decide on terrorist status of PKK 

The ECJ Advocate-General Juliane Kokott said that the court was wrong to dismiss Osman Ocalan’s case. She said that the brother of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan was entitled to challenge the EU’s inclusion of the PKK on its list of terrorist organisations. According to its current status as a terrorist organisation, member states are required to freeze PKK’s assets.

The Court of First Instance (CFI) last year ruled that Osman Ocalan could not act on the party’s behalf. Kokott said: “The CFI will have to decide whether it was correct to include PKK on that list. Even though the opinion of an advocate-general is not binding, the ECJ usually follows their advice."

The issue is particularly sensitive as Turkish nationalists accuse the EU of promoting Kurdish separatism by insisting on cultural rights for the minority group. EU-Turkey negotiations have slowed down recently. The European Parliament voted a critical report on 27 September 2006 (see EurActiv, 28 September 2006).