wall street journal
EUROPE NEWS
NOVEMBER 10, 2010
NOVEMBER 10, 2010
By STEPHEN FIDLER in Brussels and MARC CHAMPION in Istanbul
The European Union said two Balkan states were ready to advance their membership efforts, while it admonished Turkey to move faster to settle its border disputes and to normalize relations with Cyprus.
The assessments came Tuesday from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, in separate reports on the readiness of countries that aspire to join the 27-nation bloc.
The commission said that Croatia's membership negotiations were entering "their final stage" and that Montenegro could now be considered a candidate country.
It added, however, that Croatia needed to do better in making sure its judiciary was independent and efficient, in fighting corruption and organized crime, and in cooperating with the international tribunal investigating war crimes during the break-up of Yugoslavia.
It also said Montenegro's negotiations couldn't start immediately because of concerns over the rule of law.
Turkey was further criticized for shortcomings in free speech and freedom of religion. Negotiations over Turkey's membership, which is opposed by powerful EU states such as France and Germany, have dragged on since 2005.
"No one can be satisfied with the current pace of negotiations," said Stefan Füle, EU commissioner for enlargement.
In Rome, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made it clear that Turkey doesn't have infinite patience to complete the process. Europeans "must think about what the position of Europe will be in 2050," he said. "The EU may become irrelevant in the geopolitical context" with a small share of the global economy and a closed culture.
The assessment said freedom of expression and of the media need "to be strengthened in Turkey both in law and in practice," while "shortcomings remain in the exercise of the freedom of religion."
It said Turkey also needed to step up efforts to resolve disputes with neighbors, including with Armenia—with which it signed a 2009 agreement to normalize relations that hasn't been ratified. The EU also noted the lack of progress in normalizing relations with the Greek-Cypriot half of Cyprus, which has been an EU member since 2004.
The European Union said two Balkan states were ready to advance their membership efforts, while it admonished Turkey to move faster to settle its border disputes and to normalize relations with Cyprus.
The assessments came Tuesday from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, in separate reports on the readiness of countries that aspire to join the 27-nation bloc.
The commission said that Croatia's membership negotiations were entering "their final stage" and that Montenegro could now be considered a candidate country.
It added, however, that Croatia needed to do better in making sure its judiciary was independent and efficient, in fighting corruption and organized crime, and in cooperating with the international tribunal investigating war crimes during the break-up of Yugoslavia.
It also said Montenegro's negotiations couldn't start immediately because of concerns over the rule of law.
Turkey was further criticized for shortcomings in free speech and freedom of religion. Negotiations over Turkey's membership, which is opposed by powerful EU states such as France and Germany, have dragged on since 2005.
"No one can be satisfied with the current pace of negotiations," said Stefan Füle, EU commissioner for enlargement.
In Rome, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made it clear that Turkey doesn't have infinite patience to complete the process. Europeans "must think about what the position of Europe will be in 2050," he said. "The EU may become irrelevant in the geopolitical context" with a small share of the global economy and a closed culture.
The assessment said freedom of expression and of the media need "to be strengthened in Turkey both in law and in practice," while "shortcomings remain in the exercise of the freedom of religion."
It said Turkey also needed to step up efforts to resolve disputes with neighbors, including with Armenia—with which it signed a 2009 agreement to normalize relations that hasn't been ratified. The EU also noted the lack of progress in normalizing relations with the Greek-Cypriot half of Cyprus, which has been an EU member since 2004.
Egemen Bagis, Turkey's chief negotiator to the EU, indicated at a dinner in Istanbul Tuesday that Turkey doesn't want EU membership badly enough to make a unilateral gesture to unblock negotiations frozen over Turkey's refusal to meet a pledge to open its ports to the Greek-Cypriot part of Cyprus.
"After all, 17 [negotiating] chapters are blocked. I don't even have a clear date to end the negotiations. I have so many leaders saying Turkey shouldn't join at all. So why should I give up on Cyprus?" he said.
Mr. Bagis, however, also called the report "the most positive and encouraging" Turkey had ever received.
Turkish leaders, including Mr. Bagis, say EU membership remains their top foreign-policy objective, but there is a decline in popular Turkish interest in the EU. Turkish media widely noted Monday that Albanians and Bosnians gained visa-free travel to the EU's borderless Schengen zone, while Turks still are obliged to line up outside embassies—despite Turkey's full customs union with the EU since 1995, and although it is further advanced in the EU membership process.
According to a recent survey by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank, Turkish support for joining the EU has fallen to 38% from 73% in 2004.
"Perhaps the Turkish public also will say, 'Let's not become a member despite having successfully concluded the negotiations,' " Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London on Monday.—Christopher Emsden in Rome contributed to this article.
Write to Stephen Fidler at stephen.fidler@wsj.com and Marc Champion at marc.champion@wsj.com
"After all, 17 [negotiating] chapters are blocked. I don't even have a clear date to end the negotiations. I have so many leaders saying Turkey shouldn't join at all. So why should I give up on Cyprus?" he said.
Mr. Bagis, however, also called the report "the most positive and encouraging" Turkey had ever received.
Turkish leaders, including Mr. Bagis, say EU membership remains their top foreign-policy objective, but there is a decline in popular Turkish interest in the EU. Turkish media widely noted Monday that Albanians and Bosnians gained visa-free travel to the EU's borderless Schengen zone, while Turks still are obliged to line up outside embassies—despite Turkey's full customs union with the EU since 1995, and although it is further advanced in the EU membership process.
According to a recent survey by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank, Turkish support for joining the EU has fallen to 38% from 73% in 2004.
"Perhaps the Turkish public also will say, 'Let's not become a member despite having successfully concluded the negotiations,' " Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London on Monday.—Christopher Emsden in Rome contributed to this article.
Write to Stephen Fidler at stephen.fidler@wsj.com and Marc Champion at marc.champion@wsj.com
wall street journal
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου