Strasbourg, 25/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Adopting the report by Alain Lamassoure (EPP-ED) on Turkey's progress in moving towards accession, the European Parliament encouraged the Turkish Grand Assembly to continue with determination the process that began with constitutional reform, in order to ensure the democratic functioning of the state, transparent governance based on the rule of law and respect for both individual and collective rights and freedoms.
Parliament asked Turkey to prepare a detailed timetable by the end of the year for meeting the political criteria that were set in Copenhagen for accession to the European Union. Its series of other requests include: particular insistence on abolishing secret detention (as a key measure for ending torture); abolishing the death penalty; abolishing the state's national security tribunals; respecting the freedom of association and free speech, along with all the other rights and principles laid down in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; finding a broad solution to the problems of the Kurdish population; a constructive attitude to the Cypriot issue and the wielding of a decisive influence on the Turkish Cypriots to get them to enter dialogue again; the immediate application of the European Court of Human Rights' rulings, particularly in the Loizidou case; freeing Leyla Zana and the former members of the Kurdish Parliament who are imprisoned for their political beliefs. The European Parliament appreciates the contribution made by Turkey to the international community's peace efforts in the Balkans and the war against terrorism. It strongly encourages the Turkish authorities to make a positive contribution to the implementation of the agreement between the EU and NATO on providing NATO resources for EU PECSD operations and calls for Turkey to be involved in the debate on the future of Europe in the same way as the other candidate countries. (The question of Turkey's observer status on the future Convention has not yet been settled, Ed.) The EP supports the initiative undertaken by a group of Turkish and Armenian diplomats and figures in academia to try and find a common interpretation of what happened in history, convinced (along with others) that this initiative will lead to relations between the Turkish and Armenian populations and between the two countries being normalised. The EP also wants Turkey to take all measures necessary to create a climate of stability in the entire Caucasus region and to play a proactive role in getting Azerbaijan and Armenia back to the negotiating table.
Mr Lamassoure welcomed the adoption of his report, stressing to journalists that the report did not give the views simply of a rapporteur or a handful of MEPs, but represented "broad consensus" to welcome Turkey's candidacy while highlighting the work that still needs to be carried out to meet all the political criteria. Mr Lamassoure said that the four biggest groups (EPP-ED, PES, ELDR and the Greens/EFA) had strictly kept to the same voting list. He pointed out that an amendment by the Socialist group had initially proposed giving Turkey a ten-year deadline for meeting the Copenhagen criteria, saying that he had opposed the idea on the grounds that all candidate countries should be treated the same. He felt that the compromise solution of Turkey being asked to set its own timetable would help Turkish democrats who want to speed up the reform process. He then came back to the very strong pressure being applied by the Armenians in the Diaspora (rather than Armenians in Turkey and Armenia) in order that the resolution again include the recognition of the Armenian genocide. Mr Lamassoure said that this would have been "inopportune" since Parliament cannot repeat the same thing every year and also because it was a matter of "encouraging the dialogue" that was launched on this issue last year.
Adopting another report by Mr Lamassoure, Parliament approved the draft regulation concerning financial aid for Turkey for the pre-accession process, with a few amendments. The regulation aims to create a single legal basis for aid to Turkey. The EP insisted, however, that the financial aid be focussed as a priority on political and institutional reforms and called on the Commission to co-ordinate this aid with other sponsors (such as the EIB). Finally, the EP stressed the need to reduce regional imbalances and strengthen economic and social cohesion in Turkey.
European Parliament Plenary Session