"EU-onderhandelingen zouden binnen twee jaar moeten starten" (en) - Hoofdinhoud

EU membership negotiations with Turkey should open within the next two years, the Dutch government's Advisory Council on International Affairs has suggested in a new report.

Published on Wednesday (25 August), the report praised Turkey for reforms in recent years but also stressed that new democratic laws were not yet implemented at the lower bureaucratic levels where human rights violations still occur.

"Admitting a Muslim country may be new to the EU, but does not principally differ from earlier expansions. One way or the other, Islam should gain a place within the EU, if only because there are 20 million Muslims" in the EU countries, the report said, according to IHT.

The Dutch advisory council did not, however, recommend setting a date for actual membership

"An accession date should not be set because it could create false expectations and risk compromising careful preparation to an artificial, politically loaded timetable", the advisors said.

Turkey at the top of the EU agenda

Holding the presidency of the European Union for the rest of this year, the Dutch government will play a central role in running the negotiations on Turkish EU membership.

On 6 October, the European Commission is expected to publish a crucial report on Turkey's compliance with the standard criteria for EU membership.

This report will largely influence a decision in December by member states on whether or not to start accession talks with Ankara.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP has declared Turkey's EU membership a top priority.

Mr Erdogan is personally preparing for a very busy autumn with planned visits to the European hot spots in a final effort to secure his country a place at the European Union table.

A visit to Brussels on 2 October, only days before the Commission's report is released, has been planned for the Prime Minister to attend the opening of a Turkish exhibition.

After Brussels, Mr Erdogan continues on to Berlin and ends up in Strasbourg, where he is expected to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 4-5 October. A visit to France on 20-21 October is also scheduled.

Public opinon swings

Mr Erdogan's party has also called for an extraordinary session of the Ankara Parliament to be held on 14 September to discuss a newly-proposed penal code - expected to come into force in January 2005.

One positive result at the Turkish score board can already be noted.

A fresh opinion poll published on Thursday (26 August) by Kristeligt Dagblad in Denmark reported for the first time that a majority (40 percent) of Danes favour Turkish entry into the EU.

This is a remarkable change in opinion which to date saw only 20-30 percent support Ankara's membership bid - however 36 percent of those polled were opposed, while 24 percent were undecided.