Türkiye s presents its accession preparations roadmap

Türkiye's presents its accession preparations roadmap

On April 17 the Turkish government adopted of a 400-page road map for its EU accession preparations. The intention of establishing a roadmap was announced by Türkiye's negotiator, Ali Babacan, after the accession conference in Brussels in March (see Enlargement News April 4 2007). He said the strategy was aimed at speeding up reforms needed for EU accession, with a schedule of primary and secondary legislation to be completed in 2007-2013. "This will be a programme for continuing our reforms", he said, "covering all 35 chapters, including those suspended because of the link to Cyprus. We have decided to separate the formal process of negotiations from the domestic efforts of Türkiye...We have decided not to wait, but to move full speed ahead. Türkiye needs reforms in a short time. We have no time to lose".

European Commission officials welcomed the adoption of the road map. Türkiye's adoption of the road map has no direct implications for the date at which accession negotiations might be completed, officials added. The EU has maintained a clear line on accession dates. It does not define dates in advance, because progress in the process of negotiations depends on progress in making reforms on the ground.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that two more chapters could be opened in the accession negotiations with Türkiye during the German Presidency, after she met Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Hanover on April 15.

• European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn described the three murders at a Christian publishing house in eastern Türkiye on April 18 as "a sad and sorrowful event". He expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and strongly condemned what he called a "brutal assassination", hoping the perpetrators would be brought swiftly to justice. His aides underlined that the killings were a criminal act that had been strongly condemned by Türkiye's government, including its prime minister and its foreign affairs minister. Every candidate country for EU accession has to respect fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion, and the European Commission is regularly monitoring the situation in Türkiye and will continue to do so for upcoming reports, added officials. Meanwhile, Joseph Daul, the leader of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, insisted that the Turkish authorities should take more effective measures to guarantee freedom of religion.

    Source:Enlargement Newsletter