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EU wannabe Turkey needs new constitution to join the club

04 November 2010, 21:25 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - Turkey's best bet to jump start its stalled bid to join the European Union would be to adopt a new constitution, according to the draft annual EU report on countries wanting to join the 27-nation club.

Ankara was praised, in the draft seen by AFP, for a September vote ushering in a battery of amendments to its constitution, including the reform of its top courts to reduce the influence of the military.

The amendments "are an important step in the right direction," said the draft, also available on the online edition of German daily Die Welt.

But Turkey still has a constitution put in place following a 1980 coup, one of four times the military forced out elected governments since 1960, and the EU suggested more needed to be done to set democratic processes in stone.

"A new civilian constitution would provide a solid base for a further strengthening of democracy in Turkey, in line with European standards and the EU accession criteria," the report said.

Turkey was rapped too for "shortcomings" in freedom of religion, a lack of progress on women's and trade union rights, and for scoring "only limited results" on the Kurdish issue, responsible for a resurgence of attacks.

Turning to the divisive issue of EU member Cyprus, the report said that while Turkey "has continued to express public support" for UN-run talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, "there has been no progress towards normalisation of bilateral relations" with Cyprus.

"Turkey needs to step up efforts to delve open bilateral issues, including border disputes," it said.

On the plus side, Ankara was praised for progress in the fight against corruption.

The EU also welcomed Turkey's increasingly active foreign policy role in its region.

"This is an asset for the European Union, provided it is developed as a complement to Turkey's accession process and in coordination with the EU."

Turkey began entry talks in 2005 but the talks have slowed due to growing opposition from some quarters, notably France, Germany and Austria, and to the impasse over Cyprus.


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