Europaudvalget 2010-11 (1. samling), Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2010-11 (1. samling)
EUU Alm.del Bilag 77, UPN Alm.del Bilag 19
Offentligt
Conclusions on Turkey(extract from the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the EuropeanParliament "Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2010-2011", COM(2010)660 final)Turkey continues to sufficiently fulfil thepolitical criteria.The recent constitutional reformscreated the conditions for progress in a number of areas, such as the judiciary andfundamental rights. They now need to be implemented in line with European standards. Thedemocratic opening, aimed notably at addressing the Kurdish issue, did not yet meet theexpectations.The package of constitutional amendments approved in a referendum on 12 September is astep in the right direction. It addresses a number of priorities of the Accession Partnership inthe area of the judiciary, fundamental rights and public administration. However, the draftingand adoption of the constitutional reforms was not preceded by a consultation processinvolving political parties and civil society at large. Implementation of the package, in linewith European standards and in a transparent and inclusive way, will be key. Significantefforts are still needed on fundamental rights. The quantity of legal actions against journalistsand undue pressure on the media undermine freedom of the press in practice. The democraticopening, announced by the government in August 2009 to address notably the Kurdish issue,was only partly followed through by the government. The decision of the Constitutional Courtto close down the Democratic Society Party (DTP) and a surge in PKK terrorist attacks alsoundermined this policy.As regardsdemocracy and the rule of lawin Turkey, the investigation of the alleged criminalnetwork Ergenekon continued. This investigation and the probe into several other coup plansremains an opportunity for Turkey to strengthen confidence in the proper functioning of itsdemocratic institutions and the rule of law. However, there are concerns as regards judicialguarantees for all suspects. Turkey still needs to align its legislation as regards procedure andgrounds for closures of political parties with European standards.As regards,public administration reform,some progress has been made with the adoption ofthe constitutional amendments, in particular towards the establishment of an Ombudsmaninstitution, protection of personal data and access to information. Further efforts are needed inparticular on reforming the civil service.Progress has been made as regards thecivilian oversight of security forces.The constitutionalpackage limits the competence of military courts and opens the decisions of the SupremeMilitary Council to judicial review. However, senior members of the Armed Forces havecontinued to make statements beyond their remit, in particular on judicial issues. No progresswas made in terms of parliamentary oversight over the defence budget.In the area of thejudiciaryprogress was achieved in the implementation of the judicial reformstrategy. The adoption of the constitutional amendments on the composition of the HighCouncil of Judges and Prosecutors is a positive step. However, the Minister of Justice stillchairs the High Council and has the last word on investigations. During the preparation andadoption process of the implementing legislation, the establishment of an effective dialoguewith all stakeholders will be needed. This would contribute to an implementation of thesereforms in line with European standards, in a transparent and inclusive way.
Progress has been made as regards the development of a comprehensive anti-corruptionStrategy and Action Plan. However, corruption remains prevalent in many areas. Turkeyneeds to develop a track record of investigations, indictments and convictions.Concerninghuman rights and the protection of minorities,some progress has been made, inparticular with respects to freedom of assembly and women's, children's and cultural rights.However, significant efforts are still needed in particular concerning freedom of expressionand freedom of religion.As regards theobservance of international human rights law,the human rights institutionsneed to be brought fully in line with the UN principles.The positive trend on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment continues. Some high profilecases of human rights violations have resulted in convictions. However, disproportionate useof force by law enforcement authorities continues to be reported and is of concern.The implementation of the prison reform programme continues. However, the high proportionof prisoners in pre-trial detention remains one of the most significant problems. Healthservices in prison need to be improved.Turkish law does not sufficiently guaranteefreedom of expressionin line with the ECHR andthe ECtHR case law. The high number of cases initiated against journalists is of concern.Undue political pressures on the media and legal uncertainties affect the exercise of freedomof the press in practice. The frequent website bans are a source of concern.As regards freedom of assembly, there has been some progress. Demonstrations which hadstirred unrest in the past, such as the Newroz celebrations (the Kurdish new year) or 1stofMay, took place peacefully this year and were well coordinated with the authorities. However,some demonstrations in the Southeast related to the Kurdish issue continued to be marked byexcessive use of force by security forces.The legal framework onfreedom of associationis broadly in line with EU standards.However, the authorities exercise excessive controls and continue to launch closure casesagainst LGBT associations.As regardsfreedom of religion,freedom of worship continues to be generally respected. Theimplementation of the law on foundations has been continuing, albeit with some delays andprocedural problems. The dialogue with the Alevis and non-Muslims continued but has notyet produced results. Members of minority religions continue to be subject to threats byextremists. A legal framework in line with the ECHR has yet to be established, so that all non-Muslim religious communities and Alevi community can function without undue constraints,including the training of clergy.The legal framework guaranteeingwomen's rightsand gender equality is broadly in place.This framework has been strengthened through the constitutional amendment permitting theadoption of positive discrimination measures for women. However, sustained further effortsare needed to turn this legal framework into a political, social and economic reality. Ensuringwomen's rights and gender equality in practice remain key challenges for Turkey. Honourkillings, early and forced marriages and domestic violence remain serious problems.Legislation needs to be implemented consistently across the country. Further education andawareness raising efforts on women's rights and gender equality are needed.There has been progress with regards tochildren's rights.Turkey aligned its legal frameworkon juvenile justice with international standards. The gender gap in primary educationcontinued to decrease, but persists in certain parts of the country. Drop-outs of children fromschools remain a source of concern. Efforts need to be further strengthened in all areas
including education, child labour, health, administrative capacity and coordination, and tobuild an effective juvenile justice system throughout the countryThe Constitutional amendments broadentrade union rightsin Turkey, notably for the publicservice. However, there are restrictive provisions in the current legal framework which are notin line with EU standards and ILO Conventions. Lack of consensus between social partnersand government is an obstacle to the adoption of new legislation.Turkey's approach torespect for and protection of minorities and cultural rightsremainsrestrictive. Full respect for and protection of language, culture and fundamental rights, inaccordance with European standards have yet to be fully achieved. Turkey needs to makefurther efforts to enhance tolerance and promote inclusiveness vis-à-vis minorities.Some positive steps were taken to strengthen cultural rights, in particular in relation toTurkey's broadcasting policy in languages other than Turkish. However, restrictions remain,particularly on the use of such languages in political life, education and contacts with publicservices.The issue ofRomahas become more publicly debated and concrete measures to address someof their concerns are underway. However, in the absence of a comprehensive policy toadvance social inclusion of Roma, the latter still frequently face discriminatory treatment inaccess to education, housing, health services and public services.As concerns theEast and Southeast,the government's democratic opening fell short ofexpectations as few measures have been put into practice. It is important that effortsaddressing the Kurdish issue are sustained through broad consultation. The anti-terrorlegislation needs to be amended to avoid undue restrictions on the exercise of fundamentalrights. The existence of numerous landmines continues to raise concerns. The village guardsystem still needs to be phased out.There was a surge of PKK terrorist attacks since June, which claimed many lives. The PKK ison the EU list of terrorist organisations. Turkey and the EU enhanced dialogue on counter-terrorism.Compensation ofinternally displaced persons(IDPs) has continued. However,implementation is not effective. The government has not developed an overall nationalstrategy to address the IDP issue and needs to step up efforts to address IDPs' needs. The legalframework for refugees and asylum seekers and the implementation of circulars regardingprocedures for applications need to be strengthened. Further improvements of the generalconditions in foreigners’ detention centres is important.With regard toregional issues and international obligations,Turkey continued to expresspublic support for the negotiations between the leaders of the two communities under thegood offices of the UN Secretary-General to find a comprehensive settlement of theCyprusproblem.However, despite repeated calls by the Council and the Commission, Turkey stillhas not complied with its obligations as outlined in the declaration of the EuropeanCommunity and its Member States of 21 September 2005 and in the Council conclusions,including the December 2006 and December 2009 conclusions. It does not meet its obligationof full, non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the AssociationAgreement and has not removed all obstacles to the free movement of goods, includingrestrictions on direct transport links with Cyprus. There is no progress towards normalisationof bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus.As regardsrelations with Greece,there is renewed impetus to improve bilateral relations. Thishas yielded some positive results in the area of trade, education, transport, energy, culture and
environment. Bilateral exploratory talks have intensified. A considerable number of formalcomplaints were made by Greece about continued violations of its airspace by Turkey,including flights over Greek islands. Greece also made complaints about violations of itsterritorial waters.The EU and Turkey held a dialogue on areas of common concern in theWestern Balkans.Turkey took a number of initiatives in the region, including tripartite talks with Serbia andBosnia and Herzegovina. Relations with Bulgaria remain positive.The Turkisheconomywas hit hard by the global financial crisis, but quickly recouped itslosses, as it started growing across the board at robust rates since the second quarter of 2009.The government budget and the central bank have successfully provided substantial supportfor aggregate demand, particularly via a significant easing of the fiscal and monetary stance.High growth rates are accompanied by rapidly widening trade and current account deficits,falling unemployment – though still higher than pre-crisis levels - and rising inflationarypressures. The exiting strategy from crisis-related intervention policies focuses on achievingstrong, sustained and balanced growth. The design of a fiscal rule has been completed and hasthe potential of considerably improving the fiscal performance over time. However, itsadoption by the Parliament has been delayed. Progress with respect to structural reform wasmixed, but lower real interest rates and stronger economic fundamentals should provide scopefor an acceleration of structural reforms.As regards theeconomic criteria,Turkey is a functioning market economy. It should be ableto cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union in the medium term,provided that it continues implementing its comprehensive structural reform programme.In the aftermath of the crisis, consensus on economic policy essentials has been preserved.The anti-crisis measures have cushioned the economic downturn although they have increasedTurkey's fiscal deficit and debt stock. They are being phased out gradually. A timely, targetedand well anchored withdrawal of the stimuli remains a challenge in order to maximise thebenefits from previous years of fiscal consolidation and overall medium-term fiscalsustainability, and to achieve strong, sustained and balanced growth. Privatisation hasadvanced, albeit at a slower pace due to the global economic environment. The financialsector has shown remarkable strength thanks to earlier reforms. Investment picked up stronglyand some limited progress was made in upgrading the country's human and physical capital.Turkey was able to partly diversify its trade towards new markets, thereby alleviating to acertain extent the impact of the crisis. Trade and economic integration with the EU remainedhigh.However, external imbalances and financing needs have been growing significantly on theback of resuming growth and although access to external finance remained unproblematic.Inflationary pressures increased considerably, chiefly because of pressures stemming fromenergy inputs and buoyant economic activity. Making more progress with fiscal transparency,strengthening the inflation targeting framework and preserving financial stability remain keyconditions in order to minimize the risks of a boom-bust scenario. The unemployment rateremains higher than its pre-crisis levels and demographic factors are expected to keepunemployment high in coming years. The low capacity to create new jobs is clearly linked toa skills-mismatch between labour demand and supply, as well as excessive labour marketregulation. There are obstacles to market exit and bankruptcy proceedings are relativelycumbersome. The crisis has further complicated the access of SMEs to finance. The legalenvironment, and in particular court procedures, continue to pose practical challenges and
create obstacles to a better business environment. The current product market regulation andthe persisting lack of transparency on the allocation of state aids are not conducive toimproving the business climate. The informal economy remains an important challenge.Turkey continued improving itsability to take on the obligations of membership.Progress,at times uneven, was made in most areas. Alignment is advanced in certain areas, such as thefree movement of goods, intellectual property rights, anti-trust policy, energy, enterprise andindustrial policy, consumer protection, statistics, Trans-European Networks, and science andresearch. Efforts need to continue to pursue alignment in areas such as environment, companylaw, public procurement and right of establishment and freedom to provide services. Asregards the Customs Union, alignment needs to be completed. A number of longstandingtrade irritants remain unresolved, such as conformity assessments checks, import and exportlicensing requirements, IPR effective enforcement, requirements for the registration of newpharmaceutical products and tax discriminatory treatment. It is essential that Turkey fullyimplements the Customs Union and removes a large number of obstacles affecting EUproducts that are in free circulation. For most areas it is crucial that Turkey improves itsadministrative capacity to cope with the acquis.With regards tofree movement of goodslegislative alignment is quite advanced, but limitedprogress can be reported. Technical barriers to trade continue to exist hampering freecirculation of goods and new barriers have been added. Little progress has been made in thearea offreedom of movement for workers,for which alignment is at an early stage. Alignmentin the areasright of establishment and the freedom to provide servicesis at an early stage.Very limited progress can be reported as regards mutual recognition of professionalqualifications. No progress has been recorded in the fields of services and establishment. Onfree movement of capitalprogress was made, in particular on alignment with the acquis in thearea of the fight against money laundering. The legal framework against financing ofterrorism is still incomplete. Turkey made no progress on capital movement and payments oron payment systems.Some progress can be reported in the area ofpublic procurement,in particular on theinstitutional set-up and administrative capacity. The alignment strategy needs to be adoptedand Turkey needs to further align its legislation, particularly on utilities, concessions andpublic-private partnerships. Oncompany lawlimited progress can be noted. The newCommercial Code has not been adopted. Administrative capacity needs further strengtheningand the legal and institutional framework for auditing is not yet in place. Alignment onintellectual property lawis relatively advanced. Turkey's agreement to establish anIntellectual Property Rights (IPR) Dialogue with the Commission addresses a key element ofthe accession negotiations. However, the adoption of necessary IPR legislation, including ondeterrent criminal sanctions, is pending. Coordination and cooperation on IPR needs to beimproved.Oncompetition policy,alignment in the field of anti-trust is at a high level. Turkey enforcesthe competition rules effectively. In the area of state aid, the adoption of a State aid lawestablishing a monitoring authority is an important step forward. Now, this monitoringauthority needs to become operational as soon as possible.There has been some progress onfinancial services,as supervisory authorities introducedfurther prudential measures. Overall, Turkey’s alignment with the acquis remains partial.With regard toinformation society and the mediain the area of electronic communication andinformation technologies significant work has been achieved by the Telecommunicationsregulator as regards implementing regulations. In the area of audiovisual policy some progress
can be reported. However, several obstacles to market development remain in place. Thelegislation on electronic communications, information society services and audiovisual policyrequire further adjustments.Onagriculture and rural developmentthere has been limited progress. Agriculture supportpolicies showed only minor transition towards the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Initialsteps have been taken for the development of an Integrated Administration and ControlSystem. However, Turkey failed to fully remove technical barriers to trade in bovineproducts. Slippage in the timetable for accreditation of the IPARD structures also represent ashortcoming. Further progress is required on agricultural statistics, farm accountancy datanetwork, quality policy and organic farming. Regardingfood safety, veterinary andphytosanitary policyprogress has been achieved, notably through the adoption of keyframework legislation. The new alignment strategy should facilitate transposition andimplementation of the relevant acquis. Concerningfisheries,some progress has been made onresource and fleet management, inspection and control and implementation of internationalagreements. Further progress needs to be made on legislative alignment, administrativestructures and market policy, structural action and state aid.Some progress has been achieved in alignment of thetransport sector.Legislative alignmenthas reached an advanced level in the aviation, maritime and road sectors. No progress hasbeen made regarding rail market opening and safety. The lack of communications between airtraffic control centres in Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus continues to seriouslycompromise air safety. In the maritime sector, no progress has been made on becoming aparty to international conventions. Administrative and implementation capacity remainslimited.In theenergysector, there has been good progress in alignment on electricity, renewableenergy and energy efficiency, as well as on security of supply. Further efforts are needed inthe fields of natural gas, nuclear energy, nuclear safety, radiation protection and state aid.Ontaxation,there has been some progress on alignment, particularly towards eliminatingdiscriminatory practices on tobacco. However, the increases in excise duty on alcoholicbeverages contradict the action plan agreed with the Commission, a key requirement formaking further progress in the accession negotiations. Efforts for reinforcing the taxadministration, combating informal economy and increasing voluntary compliance werepursued. Hardly any progress can be reported on direct and indirect taxation.Oneconomic and monetary policy,the preparations are well on track. Efforts are needed forfurther alignment. This concerns in particular the full independence of the Central Bank andthe prohibition of privileged access of the public sector to financial institutions.There has been good progress in the area ofstatistics,in which the overall level of alignmentis advanced. TurkStat further improved the coordination of the statistical system. Goodprogress has been made on the business register and on sector statistics. Further alignment isneeded in national accounts and in agriculture statistics.Turkey made some progress in aligning to theacquisin the field ofsocial policy andemployment.The Constitutional amendment package brings significant improvements in thearea of social dialogue in the public sector and paves the way for positive discriminationtowards women, children, elderly and disabled people. However, overall alignment remainslimited and the administrative capacity needs strengthening. A reform to achieve full tradeunion rights in line with EU standards and ILO conventions is still pending. There are anumber of concerns regarding undeclared work, low female employment rates, enforcement
of the health and safety legislation. A general policy framework to combat poverty is alsolacking.Further progress was made in the area ofenterprise and industrial policy,in which the levelof alignment is sufficient. This progress relates to the Industrial Strategy and Action Plan,wider availability of enterprise and industrial policy instruments and adoption of sectoralstrategies and roadmaps. Limited improvements can be reported on the business environmentand continuing efforts on monitoring and evaluation.Progress was made ontrans-European networks.In particular, Turkey reached an advancedstage in negotiations for the future Trans-European Network for Transport. Some progress canbe reported on energy networks.Progress, albeit uneven, was made in the field ofregional policy and co-ordination ofstructural instruments.In particular, the legislative and institutional framework forimplementation of IPA components III and IV has been finalised. The involvement of sub-national stakeholders in preparing the project pipeline improved. At national level there is stilla need to improve the administrative capacity of the institutions involved in theimplementation of the pre-accession funds in order to achieve a more efficient use of pre-thereby also preparing Turkey for the use of structural funds.Overall, there has been progress in the area of thejudiciary.The adoption of the constitutionalamendments on the composition of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors is a positivestep. This is also true for the limitation of the competence of military courts. During thepreparation and adoption process of the enacting legislation, the establishment of an effectivedialogue with all stakeholders and the civil society at large will be needed. Theimplementation of these reforms in line with European standards will be key. With respect toanti-corruption,progress was made as regards the development of a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy and an action plan. The development of a body to oversee and monitortheir implementation also progressed. However, effective implementation is necessary andTurkey needs to develop a track record of investigation, indictments, and convictions.Progress, albeit uneven, was made in the area ofjustice, freedom and security.Substantialprogress was made towards finalising negotiations on an EU-Turkey readmission agreement.There is a necessity for clear institutional arrangements and sufficient resources on migrationand asylum. Some progress can be reported in the area of drugs and customs cooperation.Limited progress can be reported in the area of external borders and Schengen and organisedcrime and terrorism. Little progress has taken place in the area of visa policy. No progress tobe reported on judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters. Overall, urgent adoption ofdraft legislation and ratification of signed international agreements is key.Turkey is well prepared in the area ofscience and researchand good progress has beenachieved towards integration into the European Research Area. Overall, Turkey’sparticipation and success rate in Framework Programmes are on the rise. Further efforts arerequired to maintain these rates all through the 7thFramework Programme for Research andTechnological Development (FP7).Foreducation and culturethere has been some progress, in particular in the area ofeducation.The overall school enrolment continued to increase with slight gender-related improvementsand Turkey continued to improve its performance against the EU common benchmarks. Therehas been some progress in the area of culture but no progress on legislative alignment.
Regardingenvironment,progress was made on further alignment. Turkey has made goodprogress on waste management whereas limited progress can be reported on horizontallegislation, air and water quality, industrial pollution, chemicals and administrative capacity.However, Turkey has made very limited progress as regards climate change and no progressin the area of nature protection. Turkey made progress on administrative capacity by puttingin place coordinating mechanisms. Investments need to be increased.Some progress was made on aligning to theacquisonconsumer and health protection.However, administrative capacity needs to be increased. More efforts are necessary onconsumer protection, to strengthen the consumer movement and to ensure due enforcement.Coordination and cooperation between stakeholders remain weak. There is good progress atthe level of alignment as concerns public health. However, enforcement remains insufficient.Oncustoms,the level of alignment is high, both with regards to legislation and administrativecapacity. However, duty free shops at entry points and requirements for importers of productsin free circulation in the EU to submit information on origin prior to customs clearancecontradict the acquis. Legislation on free zones, surveillance and tariff quotas still needalignment. Further efforts are required to improve risk-based controls and simplifiedprocedures in order to facilitate legitimate trade and reduce physical controls. Commitmentsto enforce effectively intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeit goods needto be respected.Turkey has achieved a high level of alignment in the area ofexternal relations.However,further work remains to be done in many areas, in particular on the general system ofpreferences with regard to its geographical coverage.Alignment with the EU’scommon foreign and security policyhas continued. Turkey hassought dialogue and consultation with the EU on foreign policy issues. It did not align withthe EU in the UN Security Council for additional sanctions against Iran. Turkey made effortsto improve further relations with neighbouring countries such as Iraq, including the Kurdishregional government, and Syria. Relations with Israel significantly deteriorated following theGaza flotilla incident. The protocols signed with Armenia to normalise relations are still notratified.Turkey is contributing substantially to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) andseeking greater involvement in CSDP activities. The issue of EU-NATO cooperationinvolving all EU Member States beyond the 'Berlin plus arrangements' remains to be resolved.Turkey has not aligned with the EU position on membership of the Wassenaar Arrangement.Limited progress can be reported in the area offinancial control,which already shows a fairlyadvanced level of alignment. Legislation implementing the PFMC Law is in place, whilst thePIFC policy paper and action plan require revision. The revised law on the Turkish Court ofAccounts, bringing external audit into line with relevant international standards, has not yetbeen adopted. The Turkish AFCOS has not yet evolved into an operational network.Permanent structures are required for contacts with the Commission on the protection of theeuro against counterfeiting. Turkey's alignment with the basic principles and institutions ofthe acquis in the area offinancial and budgetaryprovisions is well advanced, althoughpreparedness in the area of the own resources acquis is at an early stage.