American Hellenic Institute

 

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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S TURKEY 2010 PROGRESS REPORT

 

An Assessment by AHI Foundation Chair of Fellows Dr. Van Coufoudakis

PREFACE

Turkey has applied to become a member state of the European Union (EU).  The EU has determined a set of criteria which Turkey must satisfy and which Turkey has agreed to satisfy to become a member state.  Each year the European Commission, which is the executive organ of the EU, must report to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, which are the legislative organs of the EU,  as to the progress that Turkey has made in satisfying the criteria. The 2010 Reports covers on the period from October 2009 through October 2010 and contains the following issues:

  • briefly describes the relations between Turkey and the Union;

  • analyzes the situation in Turkey in terms of the political criteria for membership;

  • analyzes the situation in Turkey on the basis of the economic criteria for membership;
  • reviews Turkey's capacity to assume the obligations of membership, that is, the acquis expressed in the Treaties, the secondary legislation, and the policies of the Union.

FINDINGS

On November 9, 2010, the European Commission issued a 104-page progress report on Turkey’s EU accession process. The report was directed to the EU’s Council of Ministers and to the European Parliament. Some of the report’s key findings include the following:

  • While Turkey “continues to sufficiently fulfill” the political criteria for accession, the recent constitutional reforms “need to be implemented in line with European standards” because “significant efforts are still needed on fundamental rights.”
  • Turkey needs to strengthen confidence in the proper functioning of its democratic institutions and the rule of law.
  • While some progress has been made on the civilian oversight of the military, senior members of the military continue to interfere with judicial matters, while no progress has been made in parliamentary oversight over the defense budget.
  • Major weaknesses remain in the area of freedom of expression and freedom of religion. The report concludes that Turkish law does not sufficiently guarantee freedom of expression in line with the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights case law.
  • In the area of freedom of religion the report notes that “members of minority religions continue to be subject to threats by extremists.” A legal framework in line with the European Convention on Human Rights has yet to be established so that all non-Muslim communities can function without undue constraints, including the training of clergy.
  • Turkey’s respect and protection of minorities and cultural rights remain restrictive and is not yet in accordance with European standards.
  • In regards to the Kurdish minority, the so-called “democratic opening” by the current Turkish government “fell short of expectations” as few measures have been put into practice.

The issue of Cyprus is reviewed under Turkey’s conduct in regard to regional issues and Turkey’s international obligations. The report concludes that:

  • Turkey continues to express public support for the on-going talks under UN auspices.
  • Turkey still has not complied with its obligations as outlined in the Declaration of the European Community of September 21, 2005 and in the Council’s conclusions of December 2006 and 2009.
  • Turkey does not meet its obligations of full, non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement, including the removal of restrictions on direct transport links with Cyprus. Nor is there any progress noted toward the normalization of bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus.
  • The decision by the Turkish authorities not to communicate with the air traffic control centers of Cyprus seriously compromises traffic safety in the region.

In the case of Greek-Turkish relations the report notes that despite efforts to improve bilateral relations, a considerable number of formal complaints were made by Greece over continued violations by Turkey of the Greek airspace and territorial waters.

On matters of EU’s common foreign and security policy, of particular interest to Greece and Cyprus, the report notes that Turkey’s policy on Iran does not align with that of the EU and the UN; that the protocol to normalize relations with Armenia has not yet been ratified or implemented; and that relations with Israel have significantly deteriorated since the Gaza flotilla incident earlier this year. Similarly unresolved remain issues relating to the ties of the EU with NATO. 

CONCLUSION

The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) agrees with the findings in the 2010 EU Report on Turkey, especially that:

  • Turkey needs to move beyond public statements of its support of the UN sponsored talks and show “in concrete terms” it “crucial” commitment to a functional solution on Cyprus.
  • Public statements of support of the talks are meaningless in light of Turkish official statements violating fundamental principles of the UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus.
  • Turkey has violated legal commitments made for the commencement of its EU accession talks, including the recognition of the Republic of Cyprus, the free movement of goods ands services through its ports and airports, etc.
  • Turkey continues to veto the accession of Cyprus to international organizations like the OECD and the Wassenaar Arrangement on conventional weapons and dual technologies.
  • Turkey continues to violate the airspace and the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus.

Essentially, according to this report, Turkey has failed to fulfill its obligations under the EU Declaration of September, 21 2005 and the Council’s conclusions of December 2006 and 2009. It is now up to the Council to make the final finding on Turkey’s EU progress next month.

The Report comments that “In the Cyprus v. Turkey [ECHR] case, the issue of missing persons and restrictions on the property rights of Greek Cypriots living permanently in the northern part of Cyprus remains pending.  However, the Report fails to even mention that Turkey was found to be and remains in violation of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights of the Council of Europe and those judgments rendered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the court of the Council of Europe, which were not affected by the case of Demopoulos and Others v. Turkey.  Each EU Member State and each prospective applicant nation which is also a member of the Council of Europe, like Turkey, must comply with the judgments that the ECHR has rendered.

We also concur with Enlargement Commissioner’s Stephan Fule assessment of November 9, 2010 on “how important it is, how indeed urgent it is, that Turkey now implements the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement,” if further progress is to be made in opening new chapters in Turkey’s accession talks.

In cold technocratic language, this most recent report by the European Commission affirms what the American Hellenic Institute has argued for many years on issues relating to Cyprus, Greek-Turkish relations and the fate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Turkey, as an applicant for EU accession, is the country that has to conform to European standards. Turkey’s continuing violations of international and European law, of the European Convention on Human Rights, and of its own commitments to the EU stand on its way to EU accession. The ball, now, is literally in Turkey’s court.


The American Hellenic Institute is a nonprofit public policy organization that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and also within the American Hellenic community.

1220 16th Street, NW | Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone 202-785-8430 | Fax 202-785-5178 |
www.ahiworld.org

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