BRUSSELS - The European Union told Turkey yesterday to speed up changes to boost its chances of joining the bloc and made a special appeal to protect the freedom of expression of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.
The European Commission’s annual progress report on Turkish membership said Ankara has improved its handling of human rights issues and the Kurdish minority. But it said that overall, a lot more work needed to be done for membership. The EU and Turkey started membership negotiations in 2005, but they have made little progress since, while France and Germany have expressed opposition to Turkey’s bid. The report did not take on board Turkey’s recent moves to end a century of enmity with Armenia, a new momentum which has been welcomed around the world and which EU Commissioner Olli Rehn also highlighted.
“I’m encouraged by the historic steps Turkey and Armenia have just taken toward normalizing their relations. This process should now lead to full normalization as soon as possible,’’ Rehn said in a statement. Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, called it “the most objective report so far.’’
The Turkish military has kept a relatively low profile, but still acts with an independence unseen in European countries.
Why would they just say something like that right out of the blue?
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