Barroso in HS interview: Turkey not yet ready for EU membership talks
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The future President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, says that Turkey has not yet instituted enough reforms to be ready to initiate membership talks with the European Union.
In an interview with Helsingin Sanomat and two other Nordic newspapers - Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter and the Danish Politiken - Barroso said that the EU must strictly adhere to its principles of human rights and the rule of law.
"If Turkey wants to join the EU, it must accept the standards of the EU, and not vice versa", Barroso said.
Barroso directed his views at the Turkish Prime Minister, who arrives in Brussels this week to brief the EU on his country’s situation. The Commission will give its view on the question of membership talks in a few weeks’ time.
The greatest impediment to starting talks with Turkey is a proposed reform of the country’s criminal law, which has been shelved for now.
The package was frozen after the EU criticised the proposed law on marital fidelity, which would have made adultery a criminal act.
Barroso nevertheless emphasised that if Turkey approves the necessary reforms, and if the country meets the political criteria for EU membership talks, there will be no impediment to launching them.
He rejected the idea which was recently put forward that instead of full membership, Turkey should be offered the possibility of being part of the EU’s "circle of friends".
Commenting on the situation in Russia, Barroso warned that the war against terrorism should not be used as an excuse to trample fundamental rights. In his view the values of democracy and human rights "give us strength to fight against terrorism".
The full article with the interview with José Manuel Barroso will appear among our weekly features on Tuesday next week.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 22.9.2004 - TODAY |
 Barroso in HS interview: Turkey not yet ready for EU membership talks |
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