Conclusions

The Copenhagen political criteria continue to be met by all presently negotiating candidate countries. Turkey still does not meet these criteria.

The requirements set by the Copenhagen political criteria, and the Commission's regular assessment of progress achieved in meeting them, have continued to serve as important incentives for the candidate countries. Since the 1997 Opinions and the subsequent Regular Reports, overall progress in consolidating and deepening democracy and respect for the rule of law, human rights and the rights of minorities has been considerable. Building on this progress, the past year has generally seen further positive developments, and the overall record in strengthening democratic institutions, in respecting the rule of law, and protecting human rights has further improved.

However, while efforts to reform or strengthen the judiciary are slowly starting to bear fruit, these should be further accelerated and reinforced, in particular to ensure effective enforcement of the acquis. The fight against corruption should be further stepped up. Tangible results in this domain are needed to respond to public concern and help ensure a transparent business environment.

Continued problems related to pre­trial detention in certain countries should be addressed. The trafficking of women and children from, through or into several candidate countries remains a serious cause of concern, requiring vigorous measures. Further efforts are needed in ensuring gender equality and non­discrimination. It is also very important to sustain efforts to improve the situation of the Roma.

Turkey should take the necessary measures to ensure that the recent important constitutional amendments translate into concrete progress concerning human rights.

The conclusions of each Regular Report are contained in Annex 1. The list of Human Rights conventions ratified by the candidate countries is in Annex 4.