VOA标准英语2009年-Turkey Pressing Effort to Join EU

Turkey's prime minister is due to visit Brussels Sunday to bolster¹ his country's bid to join the European Union. In 2004 the country finally received the official go ahead for the start of membership talks after a 40 year wait. But following an initial wave of reforms, Turkey's progress has slowed. 2009 is shaping up to be a significant year in deciding the fate of Turkey EU aspirations².
　
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara, Turkey (File)

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey had finally secured the start of accession talks with the European Union. The agreement which was signed in 2004 came only after fraught³ overnight negotiations⁴ to persuade Austria to lift its veto against Turkish membership.

Celebrations in Turkish cities erupted as the Turkish government introduced a series of reforms aimed at meeting EU membership demands, bringing the possibility of membership closer. But experts say that enthusiasm soon diminished.

Richard Howitt is a member of the European Parliament's committee on Turkey. He is one of the most ardent⁵ supporters of Ankara's bid but says there is now growing disillusionment with Turkey.

"We haven't in the last one two three years seen a continued momentum⁶ for the reform process. I think that the progress has just about ground to the halt," he said. "They have told us they have had a general election, they have had presidential election they had the closure case against the governing AK Party. And each time they have said wait until this domestic crisis is over or this election is over, and then the reform process will start. But patience is running out."

The EU's latest report on progress in Turkey's membership was filled with stinging criticism over the lack of development. Adding to that voice is a recent report by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch which says abuses by Turkish security forces are starting to rise again, a charge denied by Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said such criticisms are all part of the accession process.

"Until Turkey becomes a full member, we will have criticisms about things which we have not yet done," he said. "But on the other hand, we have prepared our national program which is almost finalized⁷, which will cover wide variety of reforms."

According to opinion polls, public support for the country's EU bid is also on the wane⁸.

Taksim square in the heart of Istanbul, is a popular place for the country's educated youth to hang out. While there appears to be still strong support for the ideal of European membership many have doubts over Europe's sincerity⁹.

"If Turkey becomes a member of the European Union, the individual rights, the human rights, the democratic rights, will be a daily valid¹⁰ reality of this country," said one person.

"They in fact don't want us, because our culture, our religion, our living style. It is all about us," said another citizen. "It shows prejudice to our country to our culture, but I believe that Turkey does not need European Union to be a powerful or strong country."

Besides Turkey's human-rights and freedom-of-speech record, another point of contention¹¹ for membership accession is the issue of the reunification of Cyprus, which the EU wants to see resolved.

Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, despite the fact that the island was still divided, its "green line" patrolled by U.N. soldiers, and with EU laws not applied¹² to the Turkish Cypriot north.

Since then, Turkey and Cyprus has engaged in a cat-and-mouse game over whether Turkey will recognize the Republic of Cyprus without the Greek Cypriots moving to end the isolation¹³ of northern Cyprus and to restart peace talks.

In 2005, Turkey signed the so-called Ankara protocol¹⁴ extending its customs union deal to the 10 new EU member states including Cyprus. But it insisted this did not amount to recognition and it bars Greek Cypriot shipping¹⁵ and planes from its ports and airports.

European Parliamentarian Howitt warns that with support for Turkey already starting to ebb¹⁶ away in Brussels, Cyprus could be the trigger for the collapse¹⁷ in the accession process.

"If there is no breakthrough on Cyprus, and if the legal requirement built in to the decision which started the talks, that Turkey must open its ports and airports to the republic of Cyprus ships and planes is not respected that on its own," he said. "Irrespective all other issues I don't want it to happen. But I have to sound the warning bell , and I think the danger is underestimated within Turkey., that must not leave it too late or the worst, the train crash that has been talked about might actually happen."

Experts say Mr. Erdogan's visit to Brussels is seen as a gesture to help rebuild relations and put Turkey's bid back on track for membership. Analysts¹⁸ say the prime minister is expected to present Turkey as a bridge for Europe to the Islamic world. He is also expected to highlight the peacekeeping roles the Turkish army has played in Kosovo, Afghanistan and now possibly Gaza. But observers say the question many will be asking is whether Erdogan's visit will be an empty gesture or the start of a new commitment to EU accession.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

3 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

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 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

6 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。

7 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

9 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

10 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

11 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

12 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

13 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

14 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

15 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

16 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

17 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。