ISTANBUL - The European Union's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said at the end of a visit here Tuesday a change of mindset was needed by Turkey for it to embrace democratic reform and become part of the EU.
"In the reform process the critical thing will be the change of mentalities which will entrench and anchor the legal and political reforms in Turkey," Rehn told a press conference shortly before flying out of Ataturk airport.
Turkey, keen to join the EU, is under pressure to prove that the democratic reforms it has adopted in a bid to align with EU norms are properly implemented on the ground.
Rehn was in Turkey for discussions to prepare the start of accession talks with Ankara in October. But his visit was overshadowed by a police crackdown on a women's rally in Istanbul, which drew sharp protests from Brussels.
The commissioner, who visited a rehabilitation centre for the victims of torture in Istanbul, renewed a call for Ankara to take firm steps to put an end to the police practice of torture of prisoners.
"There is still work to be done to achieve zero tolerance policy against torture in Turkey," Rehn said, acknowledging that some progress had been made and that torture may not be as widespread as previously.
"I would encourage the Turkish government... to strive for this objective in order to facilitate Turkish access to the Union," he said.
A crucial EU report on Turkey published in October said that "although torture is no longer systematic, numerous cases of torture and in particular ill-treatment still continue to occur and further efforts will be required to eradicate such practice".
Rehn said a political will to reform needed to be "translated fully also into the mentality of law enforcement agencies and the state administration."
Rehn said it was important for Turkey to make progress in time for an EU report reviewing its progress on democratic reforms, to be published in November, one month into the country's entry talks.
"It will be embarrassing for Turkey to have a very critical review one month after the opening of the negotiations," he stressed.
Earlier Tuesday, Rehn told a group of Turkish business leaders that Ankara had failed to live up to its commitments on economic questions.
"There are still unfortunately many unfulfilled commitments by the Turkish side, which is unacceptable," he warned, noting that Ankara's economic relations with the EU were largely governed by a 1996 customs agreement.
Concerning intellectual property law, he said the country was guilty of "evident breaches", while he said it had imposed restrictions on free trade in a number of sectors.
"Such measures are frankly hard to understand from a candidate country which is about to open accession negotiations," he concluded.
03/08/2005 19:55 GMT