EU-Turkey negotiations[fr][de] 

Organisations, negotiators

Economy Minister Ali Babacan will work as Turkey’s chief negotiator and will be responsible for the implementation of the accession process. Meanwhile, Ankara’s negotiations team will be led by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul . 

No new department has been formed yet in Ankara for the process. According to Turkish politicians, this will happen only later during the negotiations. The prime minister has ordered the ministers to treat EU-related issues as priorities, which in practical terms means that all public institutions would be part of the country’s accession efforts. Each of the country’s affected ministries and institutions has appointed one person as its ‘permanent contact point’. Babacan has described the structure of Ankara’s negotiating team as “flexible and dynamic”. 

Non-governmental organizations (as well as universities, etc) will also be actively involved in the country’s EU integration process. Among other events, “civil society summits” will be organised on a regular basis.

Turkey’s accession process rests on three pillars: 

• Full implementation of the Copenhagen criteria and the deepening of political reforms 
  • Overseen by the Reform Follow-up Group (Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu) 
• Complying with the EU acquis (harmonisation of Turkey’s rules and institutions with those of the EU) 
• Civil society dialogue  
  • Overseen by the EU Communication Group. Journalist Ahmet Sever will be in charge of Turkey’s communication efforts. 

Open Issues:

There are some stumbling blocks that remain in the way of Turkey’s accession to the EU. One of the most pressing is the resolution of the Cyprus issue. The EU is urging Turkey to recognise the Republic of Cyprus, withdraw its forces from the island and lift its embargo on Cypriot vessels and aircraft according to the Ankara protocol.

Another issue is freedom of speech, in particular concerning article 301 of the Turkish penal code. This article enables the legal prosecution on the grounds of “insulting Turkishness”. Such cases have been brought forward against some famous Turkish writers and journalists, among the most famous Orhan Pamuk. Connected with this issue is also the slow opening up of the debate about the Armenian genocide. Turkey is reluctant to recognise this and a clause making it a precondition for entry was dropped by the European Parliament in its progress report. The EU encourages Turkey to establish diplomatic and good neighbourly relations with Armenia.

A further area where the EU would like to see more progress is freedom of religion. More specifically the European Parliament has called on Turkey to abolish the Talaat Pasha committee, which is said to be “xenophobic and racist”.

The EU also urges Turkey to ensure the minority rights of Kurds living in the south-east of the country.

Another issue to be resolved is the EU’s “absorption capacity”. The EU needs to define whether it is politically, economically and institutionally able to take on new members in the nearer future. Some European leaders, such as Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy have used this expression to plead against Turkish EU membership.

Screening 

Before the start of negotiations, a screening process has started for each chapter. Since 2000, a process similar to screening has been carried out by Ankara and Brussels (in connection with the customs union), and thus in certain chapters rather fast progress is foreseen. The screening is conducted in two stages. During the first, so-called “analytical screening” stage, the Commission explains its acquis to Turkey, while in the second – “detailed or bilateral screening” – stage it is Ankara’s turn to explain its laws.

Meanwhile, once the Commission considers Turkey’s compliance sufficient in a given chapter, it proposes the opening of the negotiations on that chapter. This means that the decision on when to start and conclude negotiations is made for each chapter individually. The opening of membership negotiations require ratification by all 25 EU member states. Each member state has veto power on the opening and closing of the negotiations. 

If a chapter is declared to be ‘temporarily closed’, it means that the candidate country is found by the Commission to be below EU standards in that specific field. Once temporarily closed, a chapter can be re-opened for further negotiation at any time. 

The screening process kicked off in October 2005 (see table). 

Negotiations 

Under the negotiating framework approved by the EU-25 – and also by Turkey – in early October 2005, the pace of the de facto negotiations will be determined by Turkey’s progress in meeting the requirements for membership. The process is regularly reviewed by the Council, based on the Commission’s progress reports . 

The Council establishes benchmarks for the opening and provisional closure of each chapter, and communicates these benchmarks to Ankara. Turkey in turn has to regularly report on its progress in meeting these benchmarks. 

According to paragraph 2 of the negotiating framework – which was subjected to hot debates at the October 2005 Council – “The shared objective of the negotiations is accession. These negotiations are an open-ended process, the outcome of which cannot be guaranteed beforehand. While having full regard to all Copenhagen criteria, including the absorption capacity of the Union, if Turkey is not in a position to assume in full all the obligations of membership it must be ensured that Turkey is fully anchored in the European structures through the strongest possible bond”. 

Should Turkey “seriously and persistently” breach the “principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law on which the Union is founded”, the Commission (on its own initiative or on the request of one third of the member states) would be entitled to recommend the suspension of the negotiations and propose the conditions for their eventual resumption. The ultimate (qualified majority) decision would then rest with the Council, and the European Parliament will be informed. 

The negotiating framework says that “Long transitional periods, derogations, specific arrangements or permanent safeguard clauses, ie clauses which are permanently available as a basis for safeguard measures, may be considered. The Commission will include these, as appropriate, in its proposals in areas such as freedom of movement of persons, structural policies or agriculture. Furthermore, the decision-taking process regarding the eventual establishment of freedom of movement of persons should allow for a maximum role of individual member states. Transitional arrangements or safeguards should be reviewed regarding their impact on competition or the functioning of the internal market”. 

Turkey has also undertaken to accept the results of any other accession negotiations between the EU and another candidate country as they stand at the moment of its own accession. 

Turkey’s compliance with the acquis is being verified in 35 chapters (see table), and the progress of the negotiations is measured against the following requirements: 

• the Copenhagen criteria, which set down the following requirements for membership: 
• • the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; 
  • the existence of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union 
  • the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union and the administrative capacity to effectively apply and implement the acquis; 
• Turkey's unequivocal commitment to good neighbourly relations and its undertaking to resolve any outstanding border disputes in conformity with the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the United Nations Charter, including if necessary jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice; 
• Turkey's continued support for efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem within the UN framework and in line with the principles on which the Union is founded, including steps to contribute to a favourable climate for a comprehensive settlement, and progress in the normalisation of bilateral relations between Turkey and all EU Member States, including the Republic of Cyprus. 
• the fulfilment of Turkey's obligations under the Association Agreement and its Additional Protocol extending the Association Agreement to all new EU Member States, in particular those pertaining to the EU-Turkey customs union, as well as the implementation of the Accession Partnership, as regularly revised. 

The substance of negotiations will be conducted in an Intergovernmental Conference with the participation of all member states on the one hand and [Turkey] on the other.

Under the terms of the negotiating framework, Turkey’s accession negotiations “can only be concluded after the establishment of the Financial Framework for the period from 2014 together with possible consequential financial reforms”. 

The table below is the preliminary indicative list of chapter headings (the order does not indicate the sequence in which the subjects will be dealt with):