The formulation of these reports is always interesting, because for weeks beforehand there is intense lobbying from various interest groups to change or preserve the text. Indeed, Brussels is second only to Washington when it comes to playing the hardball lobbying game and here, as there, some groups are willing to stoop very low. This time was no exception, as we know Mrs. Oomen-Ruijten was threatened by the Armenian lobby for her continued refusal to call the killings of Anatolian Armenians in 1915 genocide. As on previous occasions, she stood her ground and the resolution seems to be a fair and balanced assessment of Turkey's progress with the message that more needs to be done. The continuous slowdown of the reform process, for the third consecutive year, remains a concern and MEPs want Ankara to prove its political will to continue the process. It's a pity the same sort of assessment could not be made of the EU's approach, because the EU, too, needs to honor its commitment to Ankara, which it is presently not doing. Since negotiations started only 10 of the 35 negotiating chapters have been opened and of these only one has been concluded. Eight are frozen and several are blocked for political reasons. However, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has cited positive signals coming from Turkey, and 2009 got off to a good start with the launching of a Kurdish language television station, the appointment of a full-time chief EU negotiator and the creation of a parliamentary committee on gender equality. MEPs also welcomed the approval of the national program for the adoption of the EU acquis communautaire. But all of this will count for nothing if it is not followed up on. There are many in the EU who would like to further slam Turkey for making promises but not delivering, so Ankara should prove them wrong as soon as possible. The EU would like to see progress in press freedom, a successful, democratic and transparent conclusion of the Ergenekon case, reduction of polarization within Turkish society and between political parties, work on a new civilian constitution, judicial reform, resolution of ongoing problems under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and a lasting settlement of the Kurdish issue.
The report also urges Turkey to further develop its relations with Armenia, which includes opening its border, which has been closed since 1993 and has contributed to Armenia's isolation, although one could say it has been somewhat self-inflicted, as to this day Armenia continues to occupy around 17 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh. The trouble is that the powerful Armenian diaspora does not want rapprochement between Ankara and Yerevan until Turkey recognizes the 1915 "genocide" and until Azerbaijan gives up on Nagorno-Karabakh. Sadly, they are working against the interests of Armenia. Yerevan finds itself in a very tricky situation; it wants this border opened because it will offer an opportunity to reduce its dependence on Russia but, at the same time, its economy is dependent on remittances from its diaspora. What happens next between Ankara and Yerevan will depend on US President Barack Obama's approach toward the Armenian question and whether he decides to break his election promises concerning recognition of the "genocide."
On Cyprus, MEPs have criticized Turkey for not extending its customs union agreement with the European Commission to Greek Cyprus. Failure to address this issue by December 2009 could seriously affect the process of negotiations. Given that Turkey is unlikely to do this until there is a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem, Ankara needs to be wise, demonstrate that it is seriously committed to a solution and not shoot itself in the foot. Ankara keeps repeating that Turkey is committed to resolving the issue and that they are not meddling in the ongoing negotiations between the two Cypriot leaders, but there are many voices that are saying the opposite, not least because, since coming to office, Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias has been latching on to every statement that comes out of Ankara on the Cyprus issue. I would advise Ankara to refrain from making statements on Cyprus other than reiterating their support for Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat. This may help them in December.
Finally, with European Parliament elections due to be held in June, campaigning is already heavily under way and Turkey is set to lose some good friends who have decided not to run again. These include Dutch MEP Joost Lagendijk and two German MEPs of Turkish origin -- Cem Özdemir and Vural Öger. Although it is too early to say what the balance of the new European Parliament will be, let's hope that these losses are compensated by some new arrivals that are equally as supportive of Turkey, because Turkey needs all the friends it can get.
