A European Commission report on Turkey criticises persistent torture and harassment of human rights workers but the EU executive is still set to give the green light next week for Ankara to start membership talks.
The latest regular report on Turkey's progress towards meeting European Union political criteria, obtained by Reuters, notes advances in freedom of speech, minority rights, the rule of law, women's rights and civilian control of the military.
It commends sweeping legislation introduced by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government to align Turkey with EU standards, stamp out torture, improve prison conditions, give Kurds and other minorities cultural rights, modernise the penal code and strip the generals of their political power.
But the report, due on October 6, says implementation has been very patchy on the ground, and hard-liners in the judiciary and the security forces continue to resist change.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, seeking to convince sceptical Germans he is being tough on Ankara, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper the Turks would not be happy with the study, which showed Turkey was not yet "ripe" for membership.
"The report over the state of reforms in Turkey will be extremely critical, much more critical than many observers expect," he was quoted as saying. Turkey, he said "will find it hard to accept everything that we have written".
But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, said the criticism would not prevent the Commission and EU leaders agreeing to start entry talks with Turkey next year.
"If it comes to a positive conclusion, which I expect at the moment, negotiations would start without any delay," he said.
CRITICAL COMMENTS: Among the most critical comments in the report were:
TORTURE: "Although torture is no longer systematic, numerous cases of torture and in particular ill-treatment still continue to occur and further efforts will be required to eradicate such practice."
FREEDOM OF SPEECH: "Numerous provisions in different laws can still be interpreted to unduly restrict freedom of expression and prosecutors continue to open criminal proceedings against those expressing non-violent opinion." "The frequency of prosecutions against journalists is a cause of concern."
"Reports suggest ... human rights defenders, including human rights associations, are still subject to harassment by judicial means."
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: "Although freedom of religious belief is guaranteed in the Constitution and freedom of worship is largely unhampered, non-Muslim religious communities continue to experience problems related to legal personality, property rights, training of clergy, schools and internal management."
WOMEN'S RIGHTS: "On the ground, violence against women remains a serious problem."
MINORITY RIGHTS FOR KURDS: "While such progress has been significant, there are still considerable restrictions on the exercise of cultural rights, including in the areas of broadcasting and education."
THE MILITARY: "Although the process of aligning civil-military relations with EU practice is under way, the armed forces in Turkey continue to exercise influence through a series of informal channels."