2001 regular report

On Turkey's progress towards accession - Extracts 

13 november 2001 

Conclusion

The constitutional amendments adopted by the Turkish Parliament on 3 October 2001 are a significant step towards strengthening guarantees in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms and limiting capital punishment. 

The amendments narrow the grounds for limiting such fundamental freedoms as the freedom of expression and dissemination of thought, freedom of the press and freedom of association. Attention has now turned to the effective implementation of these important changes. The Turkish Government is finalising a package of new draft legislation that is aimed at implementing a number of constitutional amendments, in particular with respect to freedom of expression and thought. It should facilitate progress towards satisfying the Accession Partnership priorities.

Despite these changes, a number of restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms have remained. The extent to which individuals in Turkey will enjoy real improvement in the exercise of fundamental freedoms will depend on the details of implementing legislation, and the practical application of the law. It is encouraging that a general principle of proportionality has been introduced and that the stated general aim of the reform is effectively to bring to the forefront respect for human rights and the rule of law.

The moratorium on the death penalty has been maintained. The revised Article 38 of the Constitution limits the death penalty to cases of terrorist crimes and in times of war or imminent threat of war. The exception for terrorist crimes is not in line with Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (which does not permit any reservations), whereas the exception in the case of war crimes is permitted under Protocol 6. Legislative changes to the Penal Code will be needed to put this revised Article into effect. This will permit an assessment of whether Turkey is in a position to sign and ratify Protocol N° 6 to the ECHR. 

The reforms related to economic, social and cultural rights contain a number of positive elements. The provisions forbidding the use of languages prohibited by law, in Articles 26 and 28, have now been abolished. This could pave the way for the use of languages other than Turkish and is a positive development. 

Existing restrictive legislation and practices will need to be modified in order to implement this constitutional reform, as the Turkish authorities have recognised. There has been no improvement in the real enjoyment of cultural rights for all Turks, irrespective of their ethnic origin.

A number of substantial prison reforms have been adopted. Turkey is encouraged to ensure that these reforms are fully implemented. The disproportionate use of force in breaking up prison protests is to be regretted. The continuing loss of life as a result of hunger strikes is unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view. Irrespective of the political motives of those involved, efforts should be stepped up to prevent further deaths. Free debate on these issues should be allowed.

Reform of the judicial system has begun. The independence of the judiciary, the powers of State Security Courts and military courts and compliance with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights remain matters of concern.

A number of initiatives have been taken to increase the awareness of law enforcement officers and judicial personnel of human rights issues, but it is too early to assess the practical impact of these.

Despite several initiatives to foster more transparency in Turkey's public life, corruption remains a serious problem. The recent signature of important Council of Europe Conventions on corruption and on money laundering is a positive development.

Further action needs to be taken to improve the economic situation in the South East to reduce regional disparities and to enhance economic, social and cultural opportunities for all citizens. The state of emergency still applies to four provinces in this part of the country.

The basic features of a democratic system exist in Turkey, but a number of fundamental issues, such as civilian control over the military, remain to be effectively addressed. 

Despite a number of constitutional, legislative and administrative changes, the actual human rights situation as it affects individuals in Turkey needs improvement.

Though it is beginning to make progress in some areas, Turkey does not yet meet the Copenhagen political criteria and is therefore encouraged to intensify and accelerate the process of reform to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms are fully protected in law and practice, for all citizens, throughout the country.

Fuller use should be made of the enhanced political dialogue, to further stimulate progress on key issues which are priorities of the Accession Partnerships, such as human rights, Cyprus and the peaceful settlement of border disputes (...).

Confronted with two financial crises, Turkey has been unable to make further progress towards achieving a functioning market economy. Considerable parts of its economy are, however, already competing in the EU market, under the framework of the customs union with the EC. 

The two financial crises brought to a halt economy recovery and put an end to the preceding economic stabilisation programme. Macroeconomic stability has been shaken, and many macroeconomic imbalances have reappeared. Turkey has adopted, and has been implementing, an ambitious economic reform programme that addresses better than its predecessor the risks and vulnerabilities of the domestic financial sector and seeks to reduce government intervention in many areas of the economy. These problems were at the heart of the crises.

Priority has to be given to establishing short-term macroeconomic stability, based on disinflation. However, the authorities must also continue to focus on establishing a solid basis for sustainable market-based economic development in the medium term. Significant restructuring is still needed in various sectors, such as banking, agriculture and in state enterprises, in order to guarantee the medium-term competitiveness of the economy as a whole. They will need to redefine their budgetary priorities, in a medium-term perspective, in order to provide a sufficient level of investment in education, health, social services and public infrastructure across the country.(...)

Steps have been taken in the field of Social Policy and Employment but not all conform with the acquis. The new law on the Economic and Social Council, for example, fails to create the conditions for a genuine social dialogue. Turkish legislation remains very different from that of the EC.(...)

In the telecommunications sector, the new regulatory framework should be brought in to line with the acquis on matters such as universal services and data protection.

As regards regional policy, Turkey has made no progress and considerable attention needs to be paid to prepare the implementation of structural policies.(...)

In the field of justice and home affairs, Turkey recently signed three important conventions of the Council of Europe on money laundering and the fight against corruption.(...)

Administrative capacity in different areas needs to be strengthened to ensure that the acquis is implemented and enforced effectively. A significant reform at all levels of the administration is required. In some cases, this will entail the establishment of new structures, for example in the field of state aid and regional development. In some areas, new regulatory bodies have been set up. Their autonomy should be assured while at the same time sufficient staff and financial resources need to be made available.

The Accession Partnership with Turkey was adopted inMarch 2001 and Turkey has made substantial preparatory efforts for its implementation.. Turkey gained greater understanding of the acquis and the government has started an intensive process of preparation of new legislation.(...) 

Accession Partnership

(...) The European Union adopted the first Accession Partnership for Turkey on 8 March 2001 (Council Decision N°2001/235/EC). Turkey adopted its National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis soon afterwards on 19 March 2001.

On the basis of these documents, Turkey started a dynamic and intensive process to study the acquis and to prepare legislative changes in conformity with it. A number of committees and working groups have been established inside the Turkish government, which are fully engaged in this process. Turkey is encouraged to continue this important work, thereby taking into account the assessment made in this Report. (...)

The assessment below focuses on those short-term priorities where a degree of progress has been made. Progress towards fulfilment of medium term priorities will be assessed in the framework of the next Regular Report.

Enhanced political dialogue and political criteria (...)

· The constitutional amendments adopted by the Turkish Parliament on 3 October 2001 are a significant step towards strengthening guarantees in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms and limiting capital punishment, and should facilitate progress towards satisfying the Accession Partnership priorities in this field. The amendments narrow the grounds for limiting such fundamental freedoms as the freedom of expression and dissemination of thought, freedom of the press and freedom of association. Attention has now turned to the effective implementation of these important changes. The Turkish Government is finalising a package of new draft legislation that is aimed at implementing a number of constitutional amendments, in particular with respect to freedom of expression and thought. Despite these changes, a number of restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms have remained. The extent to which individuals in Turkey will enjoy real improvement in the exercise of fundamental freedoms will depend on the details of implementing legislation, and the practical application of the law. It is encouraging that a general principle of proportionality has been introduced and that the stated general aim of the reform is effectively to bring to the forefront respect for human rights and the rule of law.

· On pre-trial detention, the amendment of Article 19 of the Constitution reduces to four days the period of police custody before bringing the person detained before a judge in cases of collective offences. This is a positive development from the point of view of the prevention of ill treatment of detainees and should be applied also for offences falling under the competence of the State Security courts and in state of emergency provinces. 

· Numerous training courses in human rights have taken place for judges and law enforcement officials but it is too early to evaluate their impact. 

· A limited number of initiatives were taken to strengthen the efficiency of the judiciary, such as the establishment of criminal enforcement judges as a new judicial function and the setting-up of special sections in the judiciary specialising in intellectual property rights and consumer protection.

· The de facto moratorium on capital punishment has been maintained. Despite a number of constitutional, legislative and administrative changes, the actual human rights situation as it affects individuals in Turkey needs improvement. (...)

National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis

The Turkish National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) is a wide-ranging document, which addresses many of the priorities set out in the Accession Partnership (AP). It presents a broad agenda of political and economic reforms. It contains a useful inventory of measures, which are to be taken. It is an impressive piece of work that was adopted very soon after the adoption of the Accession Partnership by the European Union.

Turkey's NPAA is part of an evolving process under the pre-accession strategy. A revised document to be prepared as soon as the Turkish authorities have had the opportunity to complete their initial review of the acquis should function more as a planning tool for future work. This would allow better prioritisation of actions including clearer timetables and deadlines, particularly as regards the priorities under the Accession Partnership. It would also make it easier to monitor the different stages of Turkey’s alignment efforts (preparation, consultation, decision making, implementation and institution building). In a number of cases, actions to address short-term priorities have been shifted to the mediumterm, or have been split between short and medium-term priorities. 

With respect to the political criteria, some of the initiatives foreseen in the Turkish NPAA have already been overtaken by more recent developments, such as the adopted constitutional amendments. A revised NPAA will have to take these and other developments into account, for example with respect to newly adopted legislation that has been adopted. The present NPAA makes it insufficiently clear how Turkey will address a number of priorities in the Accession Partnership such as those on cultural rights. The NPAA falls considerably short of the Accession Partnership priority of guaranteeing cultural rights for all citizens irrespective of origin. Furthermore, the priority on the removal of all legal provisions forbidding the use by Turkish citizens of their mother tongue in TV/radio broadcasting is to be included. 

With respect to the death penalty, a commitment in the NPAA to sign Protocol 6 of the ECHR is lacking. The document should specify how Turkey intends to guarantee freedom of religion, in particular with respect to minority religions not covered by the Lausanne Treaty (Muslim and non-Muslim communities).

(...) Different parts of the acquis need to be added explicitly in a revised document. For example in social affairs, a number of directives in the field of labour law, anti-discrimination, equal opportunities and health and safety at work will need to be incorporated.

Source : www.europa.eu.int

Summary