Turkey backs law reforms to boost chance of joining EU
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called a special session of the Turkish parliament on Sunday to vote through the remaining three articles in the country’s criminal code.
The voting on the reforms was halted last week when some members of Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) tried to introduce a clause making adultery a crime.
Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheuygen has made it clear this would not be acceptable but said that implementing the new criminal code was essential before Turkey could be considered for membership of the Union.
Following a meeting with Mr Erdogan yesterday, Mr Verheuygen said they had found solutions for the remaining problems.
“The assurances I got today from Prime Minister Erdogan will allow me to make a very clear recommendation. There are no more obstacles on the table now from my point of view, there are no further conditions which Turkey must fulfil to allow the commission make a recommendation,” he said.
A positive report on October 6 will encourage the leaders of the 25 EU member states when they meet in December to give Turkey a date to begin negotiations over its accession. Talks are likely to start in 2005 and they are expected to continue until at least 2013.
Apart from the need for a new criminal code, reports of torture were another potential stumbling block, but Mr Verheuygen said experts he sent to examine the allegations reported that Turkey was not practicing systematic torture.
Jean-Christophe Filori, spokesman for the commissioner, said the Turkish prime minister has insisted that the criminal justice bill would not seek to criminalise adultery.
“We made it clear that if it was introduced it would create a problem,” Mr Filori said.
However, speaking from the United Nations in New York, Turkey’s foreign minister Abdullah Gull did not seem aware of this development and said that while it would be part of the legislation, the penalty for adultery might be downgraded from jail to a fine.
Munster MEP Brian Crowley, as president of the UEN group, met Mr Erdogan when he attended a meeting of political group presidents in the European Parliament.
After the meeting, Mr Crowley said if Turkey met the criteria for entry as laid down there was no reason to block the country’s EU membership in the future.
“He gave the impression that the adultery clause was not even being discussed,” Mr Crowley said.
Mr Erdogan turned down any idea that Turkey would be willing to accept a privileged partnership with the EU instead of full membership when the suggestion was made by the leader of the parliament’s largest group, the EPP, which includes Fine Gael.
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