Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-13-Speech-1-129"
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"en.20041213.10.1-129"2
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"Mr President, the prospect of EU accession has been the motive for democratic reform in Eastern Europe, and this week the EU will decide if it will be so for Turkey too. As Mr Verheugen said, there is no more that the Turkish Government could have done. It is time, 41 years after the promise was first made, for the EU to honour its side of the promise and for the talks to start.
It is agreed that Turkey should be treated the same as every other applicant country, yet some in this debate seek to suggest that referenda be held in existing Member States, that a new type of status be invented, that permanent 'safeguards' be introduced against EU freedoms, or that big countries should be treated differently from small ones. No other accession country has been treated in this way and Parliament should reject these amendments. Indeed, I ask Commissioner Rehn this: if the Council decides to start talks 'without delay', would he indicate in his reply how he would interpret this? What timescale would he recommend?
No-one denies that there are important issues of concern relating to Turkey and these are well dealt with by compromises in the text in the Eurlings report. But if Leyla Zana, ten years a political prisoner, came as she did two months ago to this Parliament saying that the promotion of human rights requires us to open the talks, who in this Chamber can with any credibility use human rights objections to support the rejection of Turkey?
The plain truth is that too many people use these arguments. They talk about European identity and the fundamental character of the Union to hide their true belief that a country with a majority Muslim population should never be allowed to join. They seek to talk up the clash of civilisations, yet for three million Turkish people in today's European Union, and for one million Muslims in my own country, the United Kingdom, the only civilised Europe is one based on the freedom of all religions and of none, of ethnic diversity and of combating racism.
No new preconditions, no further delays. Vote yes for a better Turkey, but vote yes, too, for a stronger, more prosperous, more influential, more tolerant and more secure Europe for us all."@en1
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