Turkey aims for more reforms to please Brussels

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 20/04/06

Turkey's parliament is expected to adopt soon a series of reforms aimed at giving new impetus to the country's EU membership talks.

The reforms will tackle issues such as the organisation of the parliament, fighting corruption, reforming land ownership and addressing human rights abuses.

This will be the ninth package of EU-inspired reforms aimed at pulling Turkish law into line with the Union's rules.

The European Commission hopes the measures will be discussed within the next three months.

"We would hope that the measures would be tabled before the parliament's summer recess," said one Commission official.

Faruk Kaymakci, a spokesperson for the Turkish mission to the EU, said that it was "an ongoing process" and that some parts of the package relating to social security reform were currently under discussion in the Turkish parliament.

But with the AKP government facing accusations that it has lost its reformist zeal, the government is keen to present the measures as another wave of reforms.

Observers say this is due, in part, to upcoming parliamentary elections.

Earlier this month Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül insisted that reforms were on track: "Some say reforms have stopped...this is not true, we are determined to go ahead with reforms," he said in a television broadcast.

Turkey began membership talks with the EU in October last year and so far has not formally opened any negotiating chapters.

Kaymakci said that the Turkish government hoped talks would open on science and research by the middle of May, following the recent submission of Turkey's negotiating position.

Discussions are also under way on opening negotiations on education and culture as well as public procurement.

The Commission is currently drafting 'screening reports' - or assessments of the changes needed in Turkish law.

Article reports that Turkey's Parliament was expected to adopt a series of reforms in mid-2006 aimed at giving new impetus to the country's EU membership talks. The reforms were to tackle issues such as the organisation of the Parliament, fighting corruption, reforming land ownership and addressing human rights abuses.