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Turkey
steps closer to EU membership
AP
- Brussels
Turkey’s
reforms on the death penalty, minority rights and press freedom,
have taken the country a step closer to EU membership. However,
European Union officials said that Turkey still has a long road
ahead before it can join their club.
Turkey
still needs to change in many other ways to become eligible, EU
officials say - from its stance on the divided island of Cyprus
to fixing the economy to containing the influence of the military.
Enlarging
the European Union to include Turkey would be a watershed: adding
a big Muslim nation to a group of 15 which encompass the historic
heart of Christianity; extending EU borders to such countries as
Iran, Iraq and Syria; and adding a shaky economy of some 62 million
consumers.
In
Turkey, the weekend decision on human rights reform has raised hopes
EU membership talks can start within months. Its parliament abolished
the death penalty in peace time, granted minority rights to Kurds
and took steps to ease press restrictions - all long-standing demands
of the EU.
“The
Turkish nation will expect that this fact should be recognised by
the members of the EU,” said Mr Volkan Vural, the foreign ministry
official in charge of the EU affairs. “Turkey should be eligible
for the start of negotiations.” Membership would give Turkey
greater access to the EU market and allow its economy to expand.
Its citizens would be free to travel and work throughout the member
states.
In
Brussels, where the EU headquarters is based, the reaction to Turkey’s
decision was much more cautious.
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