Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-04-11-Speech-2-249"
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"en.20000411.9.2-249"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, I was a member of the delegation from our Group which visited Turkey. I do not want to recount my experiences at length, I just want to tell you what my impression was. It was one of disappointment. I am extremely disappointed that four months after obtaining candidate status, nothing serious has yet been done to move towards compliance with the Copenhagen criteria, especially the political criteria.
Commissioner, you mentioned the interministerial committee. It is true that numerous structures are being set up. I have been aware of this in Turkey since 1995. If they are obliged to comply with something, they start by setting up committees and commissions, interministerial, extraministerial, every sort of committee under the sun. The structures are superb, we can all agree on that. Except that they do nothing. For example, it would have been very easy without any committees, without any commissions, to abolish Article 312 of the Criminal Code; all it needed was a vote in the Turkish Grand National Assembly and that would have freed a whole series of intellectuals, authors, journalists and the very same Akin Birdal from jail. That is how easy it is to take the first steps.
The Turks tell us they need time, they need a great deal of time, because this reform can only be achieved one step at a time. I warned you about that. I told you that numerous fellow Members here in this very House, in the European Parliament, were prepared to allow as much time as they needed, 200 years, 400 years, even more. But I belong to a Group which enthusiastically helped Turkey to achieve candidate status, not just so that Turkey could be a candidate but to give Turkey a real chance to become a member and start negotiations.
Which is why we want to insist and want to press for Turkey to be helped on its way with a road map and a specific timetable and, of course the accession partnership which the Commissioner referred to earlier, and not just to remain a candidate."@en1
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