EU grants Turkey ‘market economy’ status[fr][de] 

Presenting the Commission's annual progress reports on EU candidate countries to MEPs, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn criticised the "limited" scope of recent reform and called for a more constructive approach to the Cyprus question. 

Cyprus question is key

"Good neighbourly relations remain key," the commissioner pointed out, reminding Turkey of its special responsibility not to obstruct efforts to reunite Cyprus. He welcomed the start of "fully-fledged negotiations" between the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, but lamented that Turkey had made "no progress" on normalising bilateral relations with the divided island. 

This critical view was shared by several MEPs, with Greek MEP Marios Matsakis accusing Turkey of simply not wanting a unified Cyprus. Matsakis also criticised the Commission for not talking tough enough with Turkey, accusing the EU executive of using "too much carrot" when it should make "more use of the stick".

Long list of concern

Rehn also urged the government of Prime Minister Tacyip Erdogan to "reinvigorate" the political reform process, particularly now that the AKP closure case, in which the Turkish ruling party narrowly escaped political death, was over. The AKP case highlighted the need for urgent revision of rules governing political parties, the commissioner said. 

Revision of Article 301 'insufficient' 

The enlargement commissioner lauded the revision of the 'infamous' Article 301 of Turkey's penal code, aimed at lowering the punishment for criticising Turkish identity, as a welcome step but stated that more effort was needed to provide better protection of fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech. 

The Commission report calls for further judicial reforms, lamenting the lack of appeal courts and questioning the impartiality of the judiciary. It also says there has been "limited progress" on fighting corruption. 

The EU executive also expressed concern about the rising number of torture and ill-treatment cases reported to NGOs as well as ongoing attempts by the military to exercise "significant political influence through formal and informal mechanisms". Strengthening civilian control over the military is vital in this regard, the report states. 

Furthermore, the Commission asked the Erdogan government to step up efforts to promote women's rights and gender equality and bring legislation on trade unions in line with EU standards. 

MEPs shared the Commission's criticisms, questioning whether the Erdogan government was actually still willing to continue along the reform trail. "I cannot accept that in six consecutive years nothing is happening," said the Parliament's rapporteur on Turkey, Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten. 

Turkey now a 'functioning market economy'

The Commission confirmed that Turkey had made most progress on its economy. Despite ongoing structural weaknesses and weak macroeconomic stability, it said indicators had improved enough for the country to be considered "a functioning market economy". 

Commenting on the report, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told reporters that Ankara viewed some of the report's criticisms as unfair. The government is preparing a detailed reaction for next week, Reuters reports.

However, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying that Turkey was "fully determined" in its bid to join the EU. "Turkey's full membership of the EU is our basic strategic goal. Our country will continue to fulfill its obligations on the EU process," the statement reads. 

The European Parliament's rapporteur on Turkey, Dutch EPP-ED member Ria Oomen-Ruijten, said she was uncertain if the Turkish government still intended to continue with its reform process. 

"Impatience in the European Parliament is growing. We need a clear signal from Turkey that it wishes to continue with the integration process to which it committed itself in 2005," Oomen-Ruijten said. 

Her German colleague Elmar Brok accused Commissioner Rehn of "overstepping his mandate" with the remark that the accession process of Turkey shoud be made "irreversible", while the member states had clearly stated that its was an 'open-ended process'. 

"With comments of that kind Rehn destroys the trust in the enlargement process as such. Commissioner Rehn does not take over valid suggestions for a real European enlargement strategy but tries to plough ahead with outdated procedures", he continued.

German Liberal MEP Alexander Lambsdorff criticised Turkey's steps forward as "too small and irregularly paced", while his British colleague Andrew Duff, who is also the Vice-President of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, said that Turkey's top priority must be to ensure the success of the Cyprus talks.

Along the same lines, Dutch Green MEP  and chairman of the EU-Turkey delegation Joost Lagendijk said reform delays were "unacceptable". 

"Turkey has been too slow in its reforms and I regret that the European Commission has not made this lack of progress clear enough in its report. The European Commission should have given Turkey a clear warning. Turkey's lack of reform could jeopardise their chances of EU membership."

The Vice-President of the Socialists, Jan-Marinus Wiersma, was less critical towards Turkey, lauding the country's constructive mediator role following the conflict between Georgia and Russia and the rapproachment with Armenia.