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2002 regular report On Turkey's progress towards accession - Extracts 9 october 2002
Conclusion The decision on the candidate status of Turkey in Helsinki in 1999 has encouraged Turkey to introduce a series of fundamental reforms. A major constitutional reform was introduced in October 2001 aimed at strengthening guarantees in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms and restricting the grounds for capital punishment. A new Civil Code was adopted in November 2001. Three sets of reform packages were adopted in February, March and August 2002. The death penalty has been lifted in peacetime. The state of emergency has now been lifted in two provinces in the South East and the decision has been taken to lift it in the two provinces where it still applies by the end of this year. The adoption of these reforms is an important signal of the determination of the majority of Turkey's political leaders to move towards further alignment with the values and standards of the European Union. The August reforms were adopted under difficult political and economic circumstances and are particularly significant as they impinge upon traditionally sensitive issues. The reform of the prison system continued, and progress was made in terms of improving physical conditions. Monitoring Boards and the new system of enforcement judges are now operational. A number of recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) are being implemented. However, despite progress, certain problems remain with conditions in F-Type prisons. The reduction in the length of pre-trial detention (police custody) periods is a positive development in the context of the fight against torture. However, the lack of immediate access to a lawyer means that incommunicado detention for prisoners convicted under State Security Courts continues. Longer periods of custody still apply in the areas under the state of emergency. There have been continued allegations of torture and ill-treatment and little progress in the prosecution of those accused of such abuses. The reform package of August provides for the retrial of persons whose convictions have been found by the European Court of Human Rights to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The change made to Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code means that the expression of opinion without the .intention. of .insulting. public institutions will no longer face criminal sanction. Changes to Articles 312 of the Penal Code and to the Anti-Terror Law, the Press Law, the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Associations eased certain restrictions on freedom of expression, association, the press and broadcasting. The August package removed some restrictions in the law on broadcasting which had been readopted by Parliament in May following the president's veto. However the prosecution of writers, journalists and publishers has continued. Progress has been made in the area of freedom of association where the law on associations has been modified and some restrictions lifted. Various grounds for banning associations remain, however. The generally restrictive character of the Law on Associations remains, including the prior authorisation system. Foreign associations in Turkey are subject to certain limitations and strict controls. As part of the August package, broadcasting and education in languages other than Turkish have now been authorised. Although the Law on Foundations has been amended, religious minorities continue to face limitations regarding legal personality, property rights, training of clergy and education. The new Civil Code includes provisions aimed at improving gender equality and strengthening guarantees regarding the protection and rights of the child. Turkey ratified the 1969 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. However, trade unions remain subject to restrictions and child labour persists. The legislation which allows for reduced sentences for crimes related to "honour killings" is still applicable. Reform of the judicial system has continued. The competence of the State Security Courts has been narrowed and the period of pre-trial detention reduced. The functioning of these Courts, though, is still not in line with international standards. There are continued reports that the judiciary does not always act in an independent and consistent manner. Training courses in human rights have taken place for judges and law enforcement officials. A number of initiatives tofoster more transparency in Turkey's public life have been taken in the last year. Nonetheless, corruption remains a serious problem. The relevant Conventions of the Council of Europe have not yet been ratified. The lifting of the state of emergency in two provinces of the South East has led to an improvement in the conditions of daily life there. The protection of human rights in the region needs to be strengthened. The constitutional amendment introducing changes to the composition and role of the National Security Council has been put into practice. Nonetheless, these changes do not appear to have modified the way in which the National Security Council operates in practice (...) Overall, Turkey has made noticeable progress towards meeting the Copenhagen political criteria since the Commission issued its report in 1998, and in particular in the course of the last year. The reforms adopted in August 2002 are particularly far-reaching. Taken together, these reforms provide much of the ground work for strengthening democracy and the protection of human rights in Turkey. They open the way for further changes which should enable Turkish citizens progressively to enjoy rights and freedoms commensurate with those prevailing in the European Union. Nonetheless Turkey does not fully meet the political criteria. First, the reforms contain a number of significant limitations, which are set out in this report, on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. Important restrictions remain, notably, to freedom of expression, including in particular the written press and broadcasting, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of religion and the right to legal redress. Secondly, many of the reforms require the adoption of regulations or other administrative measures, which should be in line with European standards. Some of these measures have already been introduced and others are being drawn up. To be effective, the reforms will need to be implemented in practice by executive and judicial bodies at different levels throughout the country. The Commission considers that the decision of the High Electoral Board to prevent the leader of a major political party from participating in the November 3 General Elections does not reflect the spirit of the reforms. Thirdly, a number of important issues arising under the political criteria have yet to be adequately addressed. These include the fight against torture and ill-treatment, civilian control of the military, the situation of persons imprisoned for expressing non-violent opinions, and compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. In the light of the noticeable progress made in recent years and of the remaining areas requiring further attention, Turkey is encouraged to pursue the reform process to strengthen democracy and the protection of human rights, in law and in practice. This will enable Turkey to overcome the remaining obstacles to full compliance with the political criteria (...). As regards culture and audio-visual policy, the new law on broadcasting is not in line with the acquis. Overall, alignment with the acquis remains limited. As regards regional policy, the definition by Turkey of a provisional map for regional development purposes according to NUTS classification criteria has been completed and approved by EUROSTAT. However, the use of this classification for planning and regional policies has not yet started. No effective regional policy strategy in line with the EU standards has been developed. Overall, alignment with the acquis remains limited (...). Administrative capacity in different areas needs to be strengthened to ensure that the acquis is implemented and enforced effectively. 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.
Accession Partnership and National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis : Global assessment The purpose of the Accession Partnership is to set out in a single framework : - the priority areas for further work identified in the Commission's Regular Report ; - the financial means available to help candidate countries implement these priorities ; - the conditions which will apply to this assistance. Each candidate country has been invited to adopt a National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis. This sets out how the country in question envisages dealing with the Accession Partnership, the timetable for implementing the Partnership.s priorities, and implications in terms of human and financial resources. Both the Accession Partnerships and the National Programmes for the Adoption of the Acquis are revised on a regular basis to take account of progress made and to allow for new priorities to be set (...). Accession Partnership Short-term priorities Enhanced political dialogue and political criteria (...) Following the constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening the right to freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly, three sets of legislation were adopted in February, March and August 2002. Changes were made to Articles 159 and 312 of the Turkish Penal Code, easing the restrictions on the freedom of expression. Other changes to the Anti-Terror Law, the Press Law, the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Associations eased certain restrictions on association, the press and broadcasting. The law on associations has been modified and some restrictions lifted. Various grounds for banning associations are still applicable, next to the generally restrictive character of the Law on Associations. Nevertheless, the impact of the reforms is still limited, and there are as yet few clear signs of consistent interpretation and implementation of the new provisions. The issue of the situation of persons imprisoned for having expressed non-violent opinions has not been addressed. There have been a number of initiatives to improve the dialogue with civil society. Legal provisions have been strengthened to reinforce the fight against torture. Some measures have been adopted to deter torture practices, but there is limited evidence of prosecution of officials suspected of torture. Legal procedures concerning pre-trial detention (i.e. police custody) have been further aligned with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and with the recommendations of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture. However, incommunicado detention is still possible for prisoners convicted under State Security Courts. In January 2002 the Government withdrew its reservation to Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to liberty and security) with respect to provinces under emergency rule. There are still concerns related to the application of Decree 430 which applies a derogatory regime in the South East. The amendment of the law on State Security Courts has improved detainees. rights. There has been progress on strengthening the provisions for legal redress against violations of human rights. Legislation has been amended to allow for retrial in the event of convictions that have been found contrary to the ECHR. These measures, however, will only apply to rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to applications made after August 2003. New administrative bodies have been set up to monitor human rights violations. Training courses in human rights have taken place for judges and law enforcement officials. The duration of training at Police Academies has been extended from 9 month to 2 years. Initiatives have been taken to strengthen the efficiency of the judiciary, and the scope of the competence of State Security Courts has been amended. However the functioning of State Security Courts is still not in line with international standards. The de facto moratorium on capital punishment has been maintained during the reporting period. The constitutional reform which removed the provision forbidding the use by Turkish citizens of their mother tongue has been implemented through the lifting of the ban on Radio/TV broadcasts in languages other than Turkish. Insufficient information makes it difficult to assess the impact of the action plan for the South East. The process to meet these priorities has started and mixed progress can be reported (...). Ability to assume the obligations of membership Culture and audio-visual policy Turkey has started to align with the acquis in this field. The RTÜK law has been amended and the ban on broadcasting in languages other than Turkish has been lifted. However, the new law does not take the acquis into consideration and important discrepancies remain. This priority has not been met. Regional policy and co-ordination of structural instruments The preparation of a NUTS classification has been completed and approved by EUROSTAT. However, the NUTS map has not yet been used for regional development purposes, in particular at NUTS 2 level, for regional statistics, inter-provincial coordination, preparation for integrated regional development plans, regional breakdown ofpublic investment, and the definition of priority areas for regional subsidies, in accordance with EC competition rules. No effective regional policy strategy in line with EU standards has been developed, addressing the major issues in regions lagging behind. Turkey has not started to introduce the EU policy selection criteria for projects under its regional policy. The Accession Partnership priorities related to regional policy and coordination of structural instruments have not been met. Justice and Home Affairs Information and awareness programmes on the legislation and the practices in the EU in the field of Justice and Home Affairs have been further developed, in particular in the areas of asylum and illegal migration. Efforts have been made to enhance the fight against organised crime, drugs trafficking and corruption and to strengthen capacities todeal with money laundering. The legal basis for combating trafficking in human beings as been established. The Accession Partnership priorities in the area of justice and home affairs have been partially met. Medium-term Priorities Enhanced political dialogue and political criteria (...) Legislative steps have been taken to promote the full enjoyment by all individuals, without any discrimination, of fundamental rights and freedoms. The principle of non-discrimination and gender equality is enshrined in the new Civil Code. The respect for the principle of freedom of religion has been enhanced through the modification of the Law on Foundations. Certain non-Muslim minorities are now entitled to enjoy property rights, subject to permission from the Council of Ministers. Nevertheless religious minorities continue to face difficulties on the issues of legal personality, property rights, training of clergy and education. The Turkish Constitution has been partially amended in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms, and a number of legislative amendments have been introduced. However, these constitutional and legislative reforms contain a number of significant limitations on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. Important restrictions remain, notably to the freedom of expression, the freedom of peaceful assembly, the freedom of association, the freedom of religion and the right to legal redress. Capital punishment has now been abolished, except in case of war. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have not been ratified. Detention conditions in prisons have been further adjusted, although they are not fully in line with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and other international norms. Problems remain in areas still covered by the emergency rule. The constitutional role of the National Security Council has been amended, so that it is now, in principle, an advisory body. Changes in its composition, including an increase in the number of civilians, have not so far modified the way in which the National Security Council operates in practice. The state of emergency was lifted in two provinces in the South East in July 2002 with the exception of Diyarbakir and Sirnak, where it is due to be lifted before the end of 2002. There has been progress in ensuring cultural diversity and cultural rights, including in the field of education. Some provisions preventing the enjoyment of these rights such as the ban on broadcasting and education in languages other than Turkish have been abolished. Nevertheless, there has been limited improvement in practice in the ability of members of ethnic groups, to express their linguistic and cultural identity. In terms of legislation, progress can be reported in complying with a number of medium-term priorities. However, further legislative changes are needed. A sustained effort in terms of implementation and actual improvement of the situation on the ground is needed. Economic criteria Some limited progress has been achieved in the area of land and animal registration (...). There has been only limited improvement of the general level in education and health (...). Ability to assume the obligations of membership (...). Culture and audio-visual policy With regard to the administrative capacity of the television/radio regulatory authority, the new procedure related to the composition of the High Audio-Visual Board (RTÜK) foresees a smaller role of the Parliament, while the influence of the National Security Council over the Board has been strengthened. This could undermine the independence and accountability of the regulatory authority. This priority has not been met. Source : www.europa.eu.int |
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