Turkish Leader Faces Crucial EU Talks

 

Roger Wilkison

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces strong pressure from the European Commission during talks Thursday in Brussels to overhaul¹ his country's penal² code without including a controversial proposal to outlaw³ adultery. Turkey's chances of getting a firm date next month to begin negotiations⁴ to join the European Union hang in the balance.

The European Commission, the EU's executive body, is scheduled to announce its decision on Turkey's long-standing bid to begin membership talks on October 6. EU leaders are expected to give the final word on the matter at a summit in December.

Commission officials have clearly stated that Turkey can begin the talks only after it has pushed through changes to the penal code, among them measures aimed at preventing torture and strengthening women's rights.

The momentum⁵ towards beginning the negotiations, which was spurred by a wide-ranging series of constitutional reforms over the past several months, has now slowed considerably⁶ because of Mr. Erdogan's insistence⁷ on including a bill to outlaw adultery as part of the penal code reform package, a measure that sparked expressions of concern at the commission. Inclusion of the law is seen by the EU as infusing Islamic law into the Turkish penal code.

Last week, instead of pulling the anti-adultery provision out of the legislation, the Turkish leader withdrew the entire draft law from Parliament, putting it on hold, and causing consternation⁸ both in Brussels and among many Turks.

Michael Emerson, an analyst⁹ at the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels, says Mr. Erdogan's party, whose origins lie in political Islam, is split between a faction¹⁰ that wants Turkey to be a full-fledged European democracy and a group that wants to promote a more conservative social agenda in the predominantly Muslim country.

"He's caught between the European Union on the one hand and, in this instance, the conservative factions¹¹ within his own party," Mr. Emerson said. "Here, I think Erdogan has found himself being obliged to do something in favor of this faction and, probably, not having calculated very well what the European reactions would be. And now he's having to clear up the mess."

A top EU diplomat¹² says that if the Turkish leader is unable or unwilling¹³ to make a fast and drastic turnaround on the penal code controversy¹⁴, the commission may fail to get a consensus¹⁵ on giving the green light to Turkey's entry negotiations. The diplomat says the next few days will tell whether the credibility of the Erdogan government in Brussels has been severely¹⁶ damaged or whether this is just another episode in Turkey's 40-year quest for EU membership.

Roger Wilkison, VOA news, Brussels.
注释：
Turkish 土耳其的
overhaul 检查
penal code 刑法典
outlaw 宣布……不合法
adultery 通奸行为
long-standing 长期存在的
torture 折磨，痛苦
momentum 动力
consternation 惊愕
predominantly 有影响的
mess 混乱
credibility 可信性
episode 插曲

1 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

2 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

3 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

8 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

11 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

15 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

16 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。