Turkey: membership application, 12 April 1987

This second composite document, like the first in the series, provides a resumé of the regular reports prepared for all accession candidate countries. However, the case of Turkey is distinct from that of the other countries in that it does not yet figure on the official list of candidate countries. The many political difficulties, frequently cited, underlie the refusal of the Fifteen to consider Turkey as a country ready for EU membership. Nevertheless, the Commission considers that Turkey should now be considered as a candidate even if the negotiations cannot yet be opened until the political criteria are fulfilled. In the meantime, a series of measures are proposed, based on the European strategy in regard to Turkey to stimulate and support reforms in Turkey: - to strengthen EU-Turkey political dialogue with particular reference to human rights questions to offer the possibility for Turkey to be involved in common positions and actions defined in the context of the CFSP; - coordinate, in a single measure, all the sources of EU financial assistance for pre-accession; - enable Turkey to participate fully in Community programmes and agencies; - adopt an accession partnership together with a national programme for the adoption of the acquis; - establish mechanisms similar to those established in the Europe Agreements to follow the implementation of the accession partnership; - launch an analytical process examining the acquis with a view to the harmonisation of Turkish legislation and practices with the acquis communautaire. In addition, the Commission considers that membership can only take place if the institutional reform has taken place by the end of 2002. The Commission also considers that the Union should undertake to be in a position to decide by that date on the eventual membership of candidates that fulfil the required criteria. Lastly, during 2000, the situation of all candidates (including Turkey) from the point of view of the application of the competition regime and internal market rules should be reviewed, as well as that of the liberalisation of trade in agricultural products.�