Turkey's eu accession remains at standstill

The Cyprus-Turkey deadlock, lack of dialogue among Turkish political parties and the undermining of press freedom and other basic rights in Turkey are the key factors slowing down its EU accession talks, members of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee said in a resolution adopted on February 10 2011, on the 2010 progress report on Turkey.

MEPs welcomed Turkey's adoption of constitutional amendments in 2010 as "a step in the right direction" but emphasised that this could not be the ultimate solution: "overall constitutional reform" is still needed to transform Turkey into a real democracy that ensures the protection of basic rights and freedoms, they said.

According to a media statement by the European Parliament, MEPs listed the remaining challenges as:

* The worrying deterioration of press freedom, which is leading to self-censorship of national media and internet sites, and criminal prosecution of journalists denouncing human rights violations,

* The situation of women and rising rates of honour killings and forced marriages. The government must ensure the application of the law which obliges municipalities of more than 50 000 inhabitants to provide shelters for women and minors in danger. Political parties must also find a solution to the headscarf ban in universities, "based on the respect for free choice of women", and

* The lack of protection of religious minorities.

Source: The Sofia Echo