Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-06-Speech-3-135"
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"en.19991006.3.3-135"2
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"Mr President, on the Turkish question we have this morning heard what I consider to be quite staggering statements from Mr Verheugen, the Commissioner responsible for enlargement.
Already, during his hearing last month, he had stated that Turkey’s candidacy must be re-examined next December, at the Helsinki Council, and that he, personally, would support it. This morning, Mr Verheugen committed a second offence. He declared that the Helsinki Council must grant Turkey candidate status and this country must subsequently be treated like any other candidate for accession. It is true that Turkey, as such, would have to satisfy the criteria laid down by the European Council of Copenhagen, including the existence of stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, human rights and respect for minorities. Obviously, in the short term, Turkey is a long way from fulfilling this criterion. Nonetheless, according to the rather muddled speech by Mr Verheugen, Turkey should be accorded the candidate status to be allowed, in time, to join the European Union.
For, although it seems necessary to us to associate Turkey to the Union in order to prevent an Islamist breakaway in this country, still its integration, pure and simple, into the structures of the Union in their present form, as the European Parliament has just requested, seems to us impossible. It seems to us impossible to integrate into the superstate which is being formed a country which is so profoundly different, and which, in the very short term, will have the largest population and therefore, no doubt, also the greatest number of votes in the Council and the largest number of Members of Parliament in our House. One wonders what Turkey would make of this power when we see the downright blackmail we were subjected to on the occasion of our invitation to them to participate in the European Conference.
In addition, it seems impossible to us to extend the area of free movement of citizens, which the countries of the Union today enjoy, to Turkey. In fact, the Turkish question today highlights the inadequacy of the structures of the Union when faced with enlargement. It is impossible to integrate Turkey into a European superstate. On the other hand, it ought to be possible to associate it to a Europe with a flexible shape, respecting national sovereignty and national boundaries."@en1
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