Ali Babacan

The Bulgarian Post
2006-09-04 09:47:03

Members of the European Parliament are set to debate a highly critical report today on the slow pace of EU reforms in Turkey, while Turkey's chief EU negotiator, Ali Babacan, prepares for an upcoming tour of European capitals. 

The report, penned by Dutch Rapporteur Camiel Eurlings, urges Ankara to speed up its reform process as well as enhance religious and minority rights, the civilian-military relationship, women's rights, cultural rights, the independence of the judiciary and the implementation of reforms.   Touching on a shadowy bombing targeting a bookstore in the southeastern Anatolian town of Şemdinli in which two noncommissioned officers and a former member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were involved, the report said developments in the aftermath of the Şemdinli affair have highlighted the role of the military in politics.  

Under the title of southeastern Anatolia, the report strongly condemned the terrorist attacks launched by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), stressing that Europe was in solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism.

Referring to the government's call for a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem, the report described Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's key speech in the southeastern Anatolian province of Diyarbakır earlier this year as “encouraging.”

The report demanded that Ankara honor a customs deal obliging it to open its ports and airports to traffic from all EU member states, including Greek Cyprus.

Facing criticism for not doing enough to advance Turkey's bid to join the EU, Babacan will tour European capitals and meet with officials in the Netherlands and Brussels. Babacan is expected to meet with a number of EU officials including EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on Thursday. 

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