Looking Beyond the 2012 Progress Report for Turkey Evaluation Note / Nilgün Arısan Eralp

"One does not need to have very strong analytical skills to claim that the relations between Turkey and the European Union (EU) are at  an impasse and there does not seem to be a way out in short term. However it is almost impossible to have a strong insight while looking at the issue from rather the narrow viewpoint of the daily nitty-gritty of the relations.  A wider angle is needed and definitely worthwhile.

The European Commission published the 2012 Progress Report for Turkey on 10th of  October this year.  It is true that the tone of the criticisms in the “Political Criteria” part has been the harshest since late 1990s and early 2000s. In the “Economic Criteria” part there is not any serious criticism with the exception of high informal employment, lack of fiscal transparency and  the  increased ministerial powers introduced over the independent regulatory authorities which are essential for a rule based market economy.  In the “Ability to Take on the Obligation” part, which evaluates Turkey’s performance in adopting and implementing the EU acquis, Turkey’s  considerable progress despite the deadlock in the accession negotiations  is fully reflected in the Report..."