Négociations d'adhésion de la Turquie à l'UE : ça passe ou ça casse, selon un rapport[en][de]

Publié: mardi 16 décembre 2008

2009 sera une année décisive qui déterminera quelle direction vont prendre les négociations d'adhésion de la Turquie à l'UE. C'est ce qu'indique un nouveau rapport de l'International Crisis Group (ICG). Selon le rapport, deux situations sont possibles: soit il y aura une percée dans les négociations, soit elles s'interrompront.

"Both sides need to recall how much they have to gain from each other and move quickly on several fronts to break out of this downward spiral before one or the other breaks off the negotiations, which could then well prove impossible to start again," the NGO says.

The ICG places a large part of the blame for the stalled negotiations firmly at the feet of Turkey, identifying the country's obstructive role in the Cyprus talks as the biggest problem. The paper warns that "failure to live up to the commitment made in 2005 to open seaports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic" next year "would risk anti-membership EU member states seeking to suspend Turkey's accession negotiations".

Overall, Turkey's reform plans are "years late and fall short of EU expectations" expressed in the European Commission's 2007 progress report, the NGO continues. "While the bloc seeks many changes within one- or two-year-time, Turkey envisages longer horizons."

Only a sixth of the 119 legal reform measures announced in April 2007 have so far been introduced, noted the NGO, identifying a decision by the ruling AKP party to drop its pledge of a "new, truly democratic constitution" as the biggest disappointment.

"Instead of showing determined political commitment to the EU process, some top Turkish leaders have preferred to adopt an injured tone of complaint about Brussels' demands and criticism," the ICG says.

The paper encourages Turkey's government to "revitalise" its reform effort and to "refuse to take 'no' as an answer".

By the same token, the EU needs to put more pressure on the country to reinvigorate reforms, the ICG says, urging EU politicians to "stop pushing the qualifying bar ever higher for Turkey and restate that they stand by their promise of full membership once all criteria are fulfilled". This promise that should be reasserted "firmly and often," the paper concludes.

Two more chapters of the entry negotiations, on intellectual property law and company law, are expected to be opened at an accession conference this Friday (19 December).