TURKEY - Feb. 14 - European MPs Back Ankara's Accession Plan.

Ankara receives a big boost in its efforts to join the European Union, as the Strasbourg parliament approves its blueprint for accession. (Ankara will now publish a national programme of far-reaching reforms that must be put into effect before it qualifies for membership). Gunter Verheugen, EU enlargement commissioner, tells the European parliament the agreement and Ankara's response would mark the "most important development in the last decade in the EU's relations with Turkey". (The EU's Helsinki summit in Dec. 1999 welcomed Turkey as a candidate but delayed opening negotiations until it had demonstrated it could match EU standards of human rights and economic management. The continuing uncertainty over Cyprus has further muddied the waters, leaving Ankara frustrated as other applicants from central and eastern Europe made progress in their membership talks). Verheugen says: "The prospect of membership can be the most important catalyst for reform - just look at the candidate countries. We are possibly on the brink of the most far-reaching reforms in the history of modern Turkey. But the ball is now in Turkey's court. It's up to Turkey to decide what steps it has to take". (A restructuring package agreed with the IMF and World Bank has already got economic reforms up and running and the incentive of EU membership has triggered debate on difficult issues such as curbing the role of the military and granting Kurdish language rights. The EU expects to give Ankara 177m annually in coming years to help develop the economy and the customs union with the EU).