Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-07-21-Speech-3-071"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040721.4.3-071"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let me start by giving the new President of the Council, on behalf of the CDU/CSU delegation, a very warm welcome to the European Parliament and assuring him of our support should he need support from this House.
It has been apparent even from the very first minutes of this debate that the issue of the European Union’s relations with Turkey will have a major part to play. We see the relationship with Turkey as being of fundamental significance, and Turkey as a dependable and important partner. We have to make that clear without reservations, and, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, that involves not constricting this relationship or reducing it to membership, but instead bearing other options in mind as well.
The newly-elected chairman of the Socialist Group has now made it known to us that negotiations are to be commenced with Turkey, provided that it has complied with the necessary conditions by the autumn, and, in so doing, he has acted as if Turkey’s compliance or non-compliance were at present a hidden mystery, one to be revealed in the autumn when the Commission produces its report.
There is, of course, not a shred of truth in this. Far from it; everyone in this Chamber knows that Turkey, at present, does not comply with the conditions for the commencement of negotiations. That is apparent from the dominant role that the armed forces still play there. It is evident from – and here I am resorting to charitable understatement – the problematic position as regards the rule of law in Turkey, and I am mentioning only two of the conditions. Let me tell you, Mr Schulz, that we cannot reckon on any change in this regard before the autumn. I fear, therefore, that it amounts to something very like misrepresentation, not to say hypocrisy, to assert that we are starting negotiations once the conditions have been fulfilled. Are you seriously trying to tell us that they will be by the autumn? The fact is that I cannot seriously believe that they will be.
It follows that honest dealing with Turkey is also about nobody, come the autumn, fooling us into believing that the Turks already fulfil the conditions, so that we can negotiate with them. It is also about the issue of negotiations – and of when they are to get going – not having the inevitable conclusion that they have to be started; instead, we have to be honest and frank in our dealings with them.
I think it very important, Mr President-in-Office, that you should bear this point of view in mind as you set to work.
The second relevant point is that the European public have, as we know from the elections, considerable reservations about us. If I may adapt Berthold Brecht’s phrase, we cannot elect a new public in Europe; we have to live and work with the one we have. I am therefore firmly convinced that we have to seize the opportunity presented by the debate on the Constitution to bring Europe and its citizens closer together. The debate on the Constitution offers us a unique chance to do that. Implementing the Constitution and making the public more familiar with it is a matter of obligation for us all."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples