In a speech at an EU-Turkey conference at the European Parliament on Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the report will list several areas that "need to be addressed urgently".

"I am thinking, for instance, of the negative atmosphere against the press, or bans of web sites which are becoming a source of serious concern, (and) efforts are needed to protect women’s rights and gender equality," Rehn was quoted by AP as saying.

The report card is an eagerly awaited annual event for both proponents and opponents of Turkey’s membership in the EU.

The report - which also praises Turkey, according to Rehn - is unlikely to significantly affect the negotiations regarding Turkey's EU membership, which began in 2005 and are expected to last about a decade.

The EU opened entry talks with Turkey in 2005, but there has been little progress amid disagreements over Cyprus and opposition from France, which took over the bloc's presidency from Slovenia on July 1 for six months, among other EU countries, including Austria and Germany.



The bloc opened the negotiations on two chapters, "company law" and "intellectual property law", in June, bringing the number of policy areas Turkey has opened to eight. Fifteen of 35 chapters remain suspended.