Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-15-Speech-3-112"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001115.4.3-112"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"It was at the European Council meeting in Helsinki in December 1999 that the European Union decided to grant Turkey the status of candidate country for accession to the European Union and to establish an accession partnership and a single financial framework with a view to helping Turkey's application to progress in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria. It is a
that these criteria are met before the accession negotiations can start, and we must never forget this.
The progress reports established by the European Commission are therefore extremely important. Today we are discussing the 1999 progress report. Following the example of the rapporteur, we are bound to admit that Turkey has progressed on certain levels and that there are positive signs.
I am primarily thinking of the resumption of the political dialogue in the Association Council, which met on 11 April 2000 after being suspended for three years, and the establishment of eight subcommittees entrusted with the task of setting priorities for incorporation of the
the signature by Turkey on 15 August and 8 September 2000 of four important UN conventions, on political, civil, social and cultural rights respectively, which must be ratified as soon as possible so that human rights and democratic pluralism may be guaranteed in that country, the Turkish Council of Ministers’ adoption of the report presented by the Turkish Supreme Coordination Council for Human Rights, as a ‘reference working document’, even if practical measures to protect the rights of minorities need to be added, and the adoption of the law on adjourning trials and deferring sentences for press and radio broadcasting offences.
But there are still many areas where progress is unsatisfactory, or indeed non-existent. I am thinking in this case of the absence of a law abolishing the death penalty, the Cyprus question and the occupation by the Turkish army of one third of the island of Cyprus, and the problem of the rights of minorities, such as the Kurdish and Armenian minorities. In this connection, I supported an amendment aimed at inserting into the body of the report a reference to the genocide in Armenia, because it is important to acknowledge this historical reality. I invite the Turkish authorities to do the same: this would mark a great step forward in the country’s progress towards democracy.
If Turkey wants to enter into accession negotiations, it still needs to make a great deal of effort. If it wants to accede to the European Union, it will have to integrate all the values which make Europe what it is. This once again raises the question of whether Turkey really wants to be a Member of the European Union, or whether it would prefer to organise an integrated ‘whole’ with other Middle East countries, which would have very close links with the European Union at the commercial and economic level, at the security and stability level and also at the human rights and democratic rules level.
This is, of course, a different debate to the one we are having today. But, given the importance I attach to Turkey, I wanted to restate my case today."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples