EU plays ‘good cop, bad cop’ with Turkey

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn reassured the country that the EU will remain committed to its future EU membership, after the Slovenian EU Presidency cancelled an accession conference scheduled for 21 April due to “insufficient progress” in negotiations.

“Turkey is passing through a more critical phase than at any time since its negotiations to join the EU in 2005 began,” Rehn told the German daily Die Welt. Hence, “it is important that the EU shows it is committed to Turkey’s membership” given that the country remains “convincingly on the reform course” necessary for accession, he said. 

In this case, Rehn said he expected Turkey to join the EU in 10 to 15 years. 

Meanwhile, the Slovenian Presidency called off an accession conference with Ankara over the country’s failure to meet intial benchmarks in one of two chapters, which were expected to be opened during the meeting, according to the Turkish Mission to the EU. 

The country received backing for fulfilling the conditions in the area of company law but failed to do so in the field of intellectual property law, according to a Turkish diplomat. Rehn told Die Welt that he expects both chapters to be opened in June. 

Turkey hopes to open two new chapters during the French Presidency in the second half of the year, namely the free movement of capital and education and culture, the Turkish diplomat told Europolitics. 

Thus far, six out of 35 negotiation chapters have been opened and Rehn said he expects further chapters, including energy, to be opened in the second half of the year. 

Meanwhile, the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday (21 April) approved a progress report on Turkey which welcomed the country’s recent legislative efforts, in particular referring to the amendment of Article 301 of the Penal Code sent by the government to the Parliament. 

The report, drawn up by Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten, urged the government of Prime Minister Erdogan and the Parliament to carry out this reform “without delay” and made clear that further and faster efforts are needed. 

The MEPs also expressed their concern about the implications of the AK Party closure case, calling upon the Turkish Constitutional Court to “respect principles of the rule of law, European standards and the Venice Commission guidelines on the prohibition of political parties”. 

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