Turkey rejects EU criticism on media, rights and rule of law

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Turkey has rejected as "unfair" a European Union report criticising the state of the rule of law, human rights and media freedom in the EU candidate country.
Some of the report's observations are "unfair and even partly disproportionate, and ignore the freedom-security balance required in a Democratic country governed by the rule of law", the Ministry responsible for EU affairs said in a statement.
It also dismissed as "unacceptable" EU criticism about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's use of powers as laid down in the constitution.
The report € due to have been released before the November 1 election that swept Erdogan's party back to power € chided Ankara for "serious backsliding" on freedom of expression and said the judiciary had been undermined.
Turkey's EU ministry said however that Ankara had adopted several reform packages in recent years to bolster freedom of expression and an "independent and unbiased" judiciary.
A string of high-profile raids against media groups deemed hostile to Erdogan and the jailing of critical journalists have raised fears about the state of democracy in Turkey.
The leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, last week charged that the EU's "hypocritical" policies towards Ankara were helping to build an "oppressive regime" under "one-man rule", protesting at the delay in issuing the report.
The Turkish ministry said it would "carefully take note of fair and reasonable criticism" but that "unfair" comments would be brought to the EU Commission's attention.
"We will continue to take necessary steps in the coming period in order to attain higher standards in the spheres of fundamental rights, freedoms and rule of law," it said.
Speaking to CNN International on Monday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu admitted that Turkey needed to do more to upgrade its democracy and that he would be announcing new political and economic reforms in the next two weeks.
Turkey began accession talks with the EU as far back as 2005 but the talks have stalled over a number of disputes including Ankara's performance on human rights and democracy.
Brussels however praised Turkey for housing Syrian refugees and for co-operating on the migration crisis.
"Our experiences show we can easily overcome in solidarity the challenges facing us," the Turkish ministry said, calling for a "new impetus" in Ankara's accession process.
The EU report, part of an annual package on progress by countries aspiring to join the European Union, had initially been expected in October.
The commission has been accused of delaying its publication until after November 1 elections in Turkey, which delivered a victory to Erdogan's AKP.
The EU's executive argued that it was waiting for the most suitable time.
"The delay in making Europe's position public in advance of the Turkish elections could be said to have had a domestic political impact on those elections," Socialist EU lawmaker Richard Howitt said.
His colleague Rebecca Harms of the Greens called the move "irresponsible".
But EU Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said the process was more important than the timing.
"I think the substance of this report proves how serious this policy is ... and that the assessment is independent of any particular elections or other events," he told journalists.
Ankara has been seeking EU membership since 1987, but the negotiations have frequently ground to a halt € mostly because of Franco-German opposition and tensions with Cyprus.
The EU has often criticised Turkey for its questionable human rights record.
"Over the past year, significant shortcomings affected the independence of the judiciary, as well as freedom of assembly and freedoms of expression," Hahn said of Turkey, as he presented the report in the European Parliament. "Reforms in these key areas are an indispensable priority in Turkey's accession process € in Turkey's own interest."
The commission report said that, in 2015, "the pace of reforms slowed down" in the country, due in part to "protracted elections and the continued political divide".
The year also saw "an overall negative trend in the respect for rule of law and fundamental rights" in Turkey, it warned.
It slammed the "increased pressure" on the media in conjunction with the November elections and limitations on the use of the Internet.
Turkey passed new laws on the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly that "ran against European standards", the report charged.
It noted that "substantial efforts are needed to restore the independence of the judiciary", which has been in decline since 2014, adding that "judges and prosecutors have been under strong political pressure".
Turkey also slammed as "unacceptable" criticism of Erdogan's use of powers.
The report noted people are jailed for insulting the president.
It also cited opposition allegations that Erdogan abused his powers and took tough position against key institutions, including the central bank and the media.
The report also took note of Turkey's security situation, after a two-year ceasefire between the state and the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) collapsed in July.
Hundreds have died in ensuing violence.
"The escalation of violence in the east and southeast since July gave rise to serious concerns over human rights violations," the commission wrote, describing as "imperative" the resumption of peace talks between Ankara and the country's Kurdish minority.
It further lamented Turkey's "inadequate" track record in the fight against corruption.
The other EU membership hopefuls for which the commission issued progress reports are Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
Hahn in particular praised the progress made by Serbia, and expressed confidence that the first negotiating chapters in its EU membership talks could be opened this year.
He warned Macedonia that the start of its accession talks hinged on efforts to resolve an internal political crisis.
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said that he does not expect any new countries to join the bloc before 2019.