Turkish justice minister Ergin criticises EU

Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin on Monday criticized the European Union (EU) for its stance on Turkey in the latter's accession talks. In a speech he delivered at the European Parliament on the third anniversary of the magazine "Insight Turkey" published by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), Ergin expressed his discomfort over the fact that the EU had still not informed the Turkish Justice Ministry on the official opening criteria of the chapter on judiciary and fundamental rights. "The 23rd chapter on 'judiciary and fundamental rights' has suffered a lot. Turkey began the screening process in 2005 for accession talks and the screening process was completed in 2006," Ergin said. "In the seven years since then, the European Commission has not told what they wanted or they demanded from Turkey on Chapter 23rd. At times, Turkey gets criticized for not making sufficient progress in its reforms. I ask the EU: What have you demanded from us that we could not fulfill?" Ergin underlined. "We are trying to determine a road map by looking at the body language of EU officials so we can make progress on the chapter on 'judiciary and fundamental rights' even though we have not received a report on the EU's screening related to the chapter yet," Ergin also said.