Zagreb and Ankara "must do better"

On 14 October the European Commission submitted its annual EU enlargement report on progress in the accession process for each candidate country. If “it wants to join by 2012”, says the Slovenian daily Delo, Croatia had better redouble its efforts “to wipe out the canker of corruption, personified by the governing Croatian Democratic Union and its cronies”. Meanwhile, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) “is ready to begin accession negotiations, which would put it on a par with Croatia and Turkey.” As to the latter, the Commission has reiterated its qualms about Ankara’s respect for human rights and, for the first time, notes EUobserver, denounced threats to freedom of the press there in light of the €2.2 million tax fine meted out to the Dogan Yayin media group. On the other hand, explains Turkish daily Zaman, “the Commission is backing Ankara in the trial of Ergenekon, the clandestine network charged with plotting to overthrow the government”, and it is encouraging the latter to “press ahead with the democratisation process, particularly the ‘Kurdish initiative’ aimed at finding a lasting solution to this minority issue”.