Turkey's reforms will determine the tone of EU's 2014 progress report on Turkey, EU enlargement chief Stefan Fule said on Tuesday.
"There is a chance to turn our positive agenda into tangible results and set the appropriate tone for the next progress report on Turkey," Fule told reporters after meeting Turkish officials in Ankara.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule (C) and European Commission Director General for Development Stefano Manservisi (R) attend a joint press conference about Turkey-EU relations in Ankara, Turkey on June 17, 2014.He added that the accession negotiations could only move forward in parallel with convincing political reforms including progress on all Cyprus-related issues.
Negotiations began in 2005 and Turkey must comply with 35 negotiation chapters that set out reforms it must achieve to become a EU member.
So far, only 14 chapters have been opened while 17 remain blocked due in part to the ongoing dispute over the divided island of Cyprus between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides since 1974.
Fule also said he welcomed Turkish Constitutional Court's decision to restore access to Twitter and Youtube and to amend the controversial parts of the legislation on the county's top judicial body.
The Turkish government had blocked access to Twitter and Youtube in March over national security concerns.
"Over the past times there have been doubts cast over Turkey's commitment to European values and standards," said Fule.
"I just recall the corruption allegations, reassignment of investigators and judges and particularly the rapid adoption of legislation which has not been consulted with the EU and which seems to have moved Turkey further away from the EU standards," he added.
Fule said that the Constitutional Court contributed to bring the confidence back to the judiciary and to put an end to polarization of the society.
