Turkey 2010 Progress Report is published by European Commission

The Turkey 2010 Progress Report which focuses on the developments in Turkey, especially on the European Union Accession Period, is published by European Commission on November 9, 2010 .

In the report there are 33 Chapters about the progresses made in Turkey. 13 Chapters have been opened for negotiation (Science and research, Enterprise and industry, Statistics, Financial Control, Trans-European Networks, Consumer and health protection, Intellectual property law, Company law, Information society and media, Free movement of capital, Taxation, Environment and Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy) and only one of them which is Science and research was provisionally closed. The progress report analyses the situation of Turkey according to the relations between Turkey and the European Union, political and economic criteria for EU membership and Turkey’s capacity to assume the membership obligations on the basis of Acquis, the secondary legislation and EU policies.

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The report revealed that Turkey had made good progress in the areas of Science and Research, Electricity, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Transport Networks, Waste Management and Air Transport.

It is stated in the area of science and research that Turkey is well prepared in the area of science and research and good progress has been achieved towards future integration into the European Research Area. It is emphasized that Turkey’s participation and success rate in Framework Programmes are on the rise. However, further efforts are required to maintain these rates all through the 7^th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7).

In the field of renewable energy, it is stated that the electricity licensing regulation was amended to tackle the large number of wind license applications that were submitted to the energy market regulatory authority in 2007. Private sector interest in renewable energy investments grew strongly. By the end of 2009, around 1,000 MW of additional renewable installed capacity was developed by the private sector. By the end of 2009, Turkey was producing 19.6 RenewableEnergy_N % of its electricity from renewable energy sources. On the other hand it is emphasized in the report that further efforts are needed in particular towards creating a stronger regulatory environment favourable for the use of renewable energy sources in all sectors required by the EU acquis.

Regarding energy efficiency, the report says that the implementing regulation on energy performance of buildings came into force. By the end of 2009, 17 private sector companies and one professional chamber were authorised to provide energy efficiency services. Efforts to increase energy efficiency in the country could benefit from improvements in the capacity of the general directorate of electrical power resources survey and development administration as well as development of strategies to increase further awareness in this field.
In conclusion part of the Energy Chapter it is stated that there has been good progress with regard to electricity, renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as on security of supply in Turkey and developments in the fields of natural gas, nuclear energy, nuclear safety and radiation protection require further efforts.

One of the areas where good progress is achieved is stated as transport networks. The report emphasizes that the Ministry of Transport finalised the technical document on the future Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) in Turkey and the priority projects of European interest on the TEN-T Network. Also it is highlighted that the technical document constitutes a sound basis for further negotiations, as confirmed by sites visit and in the meantime, Turkey has effectively utilised pre-accession assistance to continue technical preparations for transport infrastructure projects on the core transport network.

Waste Managment

In the area of waste management, the report states that Turkey adopted its national waste management plan for 2009–2013 and legislation on the control of hazardous waste, on receipt of waste from ships and on control of waste has been amended in line with the acquis. Also it is highlighted that new legislation on end-of-life vehicles has been adopted and legislation on the sanitary landfilling of waste was adopted, including provisions from the Waste Framework Directive on reducing the percentage of biodegradables. A by-law on the reclamation of land degraded by mining activities has also been adopted. Some EU companies complained about barriers to trade created by implementation of the by-law restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

The other good progress is reported in the area of air transport. The progress made is explained in the report that an EU-Turkey horizontal aviation agreement, which will constitute a new legal basis for relations in the aviation field, is at a final stage. Turkey has declared its willingness to be integrated in the aviation architecture that will emerge from the single European sky initiative. Preparations to draw up a pre-accession strategy for the aviation sector are at an early stage. The directorate-general for civil aviation (DGCA) has improved the technical capacity of its human resources through an active training policy which calls for systematisation of curricula and better training facilities.

According to 2010 Progress Report, Turkey has obtained remarkable success in many areas, especially in the area of Science and Research. Although Turkey is more on progress than the past years, there are still important open chapters for negotiation. This report is considered as the most incentive and positive report of Turkey and in general it seems that the EC has a brighter view of the progress that Turkey made last year.