The European Commission raised pressure on Turkey on Monday to improve its human rights record before it starts entry talks, responding to public anxiety about enlargement shown in the two "No" votes to the EU constitution. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said Ankara must make further progress on human rights before it opens membership talks with the European Union on October 3.
And Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania would now come under increased scrutiny before being allowed to join.
Rehn stressed he was not creating an extra condition for starting negotiations as continuous improvement in human rights was part of the EU's basic criteria for all candidate countries.
"Turkey is required to reinforce its record in human rights and the rule of law and extend its association agreement with the EU to Cyprus before starting accession negotiations," he said in a speech to the European Policy Centre think-tank.
He confirmed that the EU executive would adopt a proposed negotiating framework for Turkey on June 29 which member states must approve unanimously before talks begin.
Foreign ministers will first discuss the mandate on July 18 and are due to adopt it in September.
Diplomats say Cyprus is likely to push for its demand for full recognition by Turkey to be included in the negotiating framework and other sceptical member states such as Austria and the Netherlands may raise conditions.
But they do not expect any member state to prevent talks starting on October 3 because EU leaders have given a political commitment, reaffirmed at last week's summit.
Frattini said candidate countries would be watched more closely as a result of the Dutch and French referendum results.
"It is obvious that countries like Bulgaria and Romania, and even more so Turkey, will be looked at with a slightly more powerful magnifying glass," he was quoted as saying in the daily Il Messaggero.
Areas the EU will monitor closely are human rights, prison conditions, penal systems and freedom of information, he said. "These themes, especially for Turkey, will be subject to tests that from now on will be conducted ever more scrupulously."
Asked when Turkey might join, he said: "It is ... moving towards Europe but we have to tell our friends that they will need many years in order to give a concrete demonstration that the requested reforms have been put in place."
Rehn acknowledged that Ankara had met one major condition set by EU leaders for starting talks by bringing into effect six major pieces of legislation, including a new penal code.
Turkey will meet the other by signing the protocol extending its EU customs union to the 10 new member states "in the coming days", he said.
The Turkish mission to the EU said the document first had to be translated into all 20 official EU languages and Turkish and details of the signing had yet to be agreed, so it was likely to be signed in the first half of July.
Rehn played down "media hype" that enlargement was in trouble or even dead because of the referendum defeats and last week's EU summit failure to agree a long-term budget. "Enlargement was a survivor of the summit, even though it was a close call," the Finnish commissioner said.
He said intensive contacts were under way with the Nicosia government and the Turkish Cypriot community to try to unblock two EU regulations allowing direct trade with Turkish Cypriot northern Cyprus and releasing promised EU aid to end the area's economic isolation, linked to a revival of peace talks on the divided island.
He said he hoped for a conclusion before the end of June but otherwise expected Britain to carry on the efforts when it takes over the EU presidency on July 1.
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