EP'S Ruijten urges party dialogue over reforms

It is uncertain if Ankara intends to continue with its reform process, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Turkey rapporteur of the European Parliament, claimed yesterday. Assessing the European Union Commission's just-released annual progress report on Turkey, she said, "As the commission concludes in its report, progress in the last year has been very limited. Looking back at the developments in Turkey in the last year, I wonder whether the Turkish government is still willing to continue with the reform process. There has been no update of the national reform plan which was adopted several years ago." Urging the leaders of political parties to seek dialogue and to agree, in the spirit of compromise, on a reform agenda for Turkey's modernization, she added, "We need a clear signal from Turkey that it wishes to continue with the integration process to which it committed itself in 2005."