The European Commission's annual progress report on Turkish membership said Ankara has made some improvements on handling of human rights but said Turkey needs to speed up reforms to boost its chances of joining the bloc.

VOA: standard.2009.10.15

"The bill also calls for tangible progress in governance - including an independent judiciary, greater accountability by the central government, respect for human rights and civilian control of the levers of power, including the military and intelligence agency."

VOA: standard.2009.05.04