Barroso urges European standards, criticises case against ruling AKP

14/04/2008

A visit by EC President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn to Turkey was seen as a show of support for the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 14/04/08

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn (background) arrived in Istanbul on Thursday (April 10th). [Getty Images]

During his three-day visit to Turkey, which ended on Saturday (April 12th), European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso criticised the closure case filed against the Islamist-rooted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and urged Turkey's highest court to consider European standards in rendering judgment.

"We have full respect for the decisions of the Constitutional Court," Barroso, who was accompanied by EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, said. "But we are all surprised by this closure case. This is not normal, bearing in mind the practices in stable, European democracies."

The visit was viewed as a show of EU support for the AKP, which recently was accused by the country's chief prosecutor of being a "focal point for anti secular activities". However, the party is seen by many in Europe as the strongest political force in Turkey, one that can continue economic and political reforms that the Union demands.

"Barroso's visit was not only an expression of support for the AKP but also a warning to the Turkish government to speed up the reform process, which has stalled in recent years," Professor Haluk Gunugur, head of the Turkey-EU Association, said. "In the past years, the AKP signalled that it has almost lost confidence in the EU accession process. But now, with this closure case and the recent domestic developments, the EU process has become a reliable anchor for the AKP."

The government announced last week that it will move forward with a long-delayed reform and present to parliament an amendment that would make it harder to open cases under Article 301 -- a vague law used to prosecute intellectuals for "insulting Turkishness".

In a speech to parliament, Barroso expressed strong support for granting Turkey EU membership. He stressed the country's growing importance worldwide since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

"On almost all of the major topics that have been dominating international relations for years -- such as the Balkans, the Middle East crisis, Iran, Iraq, the energy crisis or the overall dialogue with the Muslim world -- Turkey plays an important role as an example of stability and democracy in one of the most unstable regions of the world," Barroso said.

He also praised the secular character of the Turkish state: "Turkey demonstrates that a secular democratic republic, with a predominantly Muslim population, well integrated in Europe, offers a powerful alternative to fundamentalist temptations throughout the world, as well as a major asset in promoting dialogue between civilisations and religions," he stressed.

Barroso added that the EU was closely following the debate on secularism but was not in a position to intervene in the debate that recently led to the lifting of a ban on women wearing headscarves.

Barroso and Rehn also visited Greek Patriarch Bartholemew in Istanbul on Friday. During the meeting at the Fener, discussions centred on issues affecting the Patriarchate and the ethnic Greek minority in Turkey.