Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-28-Speech-3-008"
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"en.20050928.3.3-008"2
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".
Mr President, honourable Members, I warmly welcome this debate, which is held at a critical time as the European Union prepares to open accession negotiations with Turkey.
The Council's declaration also reiterates the agreement of the European Community and its Member States 'on the importance of supporting the UN Secretary-General's efforts to bring about a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem in line with relevant UNSCRs and the principles on which the European Union is founded'. Resolution of the Cyprus problem lies in the hands of the United Nations and the communities on the island. The European Union's role is to support the UN Secretary-General's 'good offices', and to provide a context within which the two parties can re-engage with one another in confidence and accommodate the ultimate agreement.
Let me make one final point in my introductory remarks to this debate. Turkey will not accede to the Union imminently; 35 chapters must be opened and closed; further reforms will be required; and some Member States have already committed to referenda on Turkey's eventual accession. The Turkey that will eventually join the European Union will, frankly, be a different Turkey from the one we see today – and it may also be a rather different European Union that it joins. But the progress made by Turkey so far has been quite extraordinary and Prime Minister Erdogan's Government remains committed to further reform. The conditions laid down by the December European Council have been satisfied, and this paves the way for opening accession negotiations next Monday. I am delighted that the Foreign Secretary will appear before this Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs on the following day; he will of course update the members of that committee then on the progress made.
I have enjoyed my previous exchanges with honourable Members of this House on this topic, and the close and detailed interest that this Parliament maintains in both Turkey's accession process and enlargement issues more generally has further been demonstrated by the questions tabled for Question Time later this evening.
The December 2004 European Council decision to open accession negotiations brought Turkey's 40-year goal of European Union membership a significant step closer and in the process helped further to bind the country so critical to our future security, stability and prosperity to the Union. The strategic case for opening accession negotiations is convincing. It includes the powerful incentive for reform and the contribution the process makes to stability and prosperity, the example that it sets to the world that there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy, human rights and the protection of fundamental freedoms, and its contribution to reducing tension in the Aegean and over Cyprus.
The June European Council confirmed the December decision and recognised the importance for the European Union's credibility of observing our existing commitments. As Presidency, our task has been to deliver on these commitments and we are working hard to finalise the Council's position in the framework for negotiations in advance of 3 October.
The enlargement process has had unparalleled success in spreading European values and promoting greater security across the European continent, but it is as much for its own continued success that we must ensure we are scrupulous in ensuring that all the requirements are met. As Commission Rehn, who is with us today, has said, the negotiations with Turkey will be the most rigorous yet, reflecting lessons learnt from the previous wave of enlargement. They are also expected to take many years to conclude.
The powerful incentive for reform that enlargement offers to candidates has been strikingly evident in Turkey in recent years. The European Commission's 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's progress towards accession noted 'substantial institutional convergence in Turkey towards European standards', the reform process having 'clearly addressed major issues and highlighted a growing consensus in favour of liberal democracy'.
There is much for Turkey still to do in order to reach European Union standards, including on freedom of religion and the implementation of existing legislation, and the Commission will continue to monitor Turkey's progress. But it was the impressive track record of European harmonisation reforms to date that prompted the December Council to conclude that Turkey sufficiently fulfilled the Copenhagen political criteria. Indeed, in the same month, this Parliament adopted a resolution supporting the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey 'without undue delay'.
That December Council set Turkey two further conditions to be met before accession negotiations could be launched: to bring into force six outstanding pieces of legislation which reinforce the rule of law and human rights; and to sign a Protocol extending the 1963 Ankara Agreement to the new Member States. The new legislation entered into force on 1 June, and Turkey signed the Ankara Agreement Protocol on 29 July. Both represent significant developments. The new legislation overhauls the Turkish penal system, aligning it much more closely with European Union models and adds significantly to the reforms that have taken place in Turkey in recent years. Signature of the Protocol extends the European Union-Turkey Association Agreement – or Ankara Agreement – to all 25 Member States. It is, of course, with 25 Member States that Turkey will conduct its accession negotiations.
You are all well aware that, when signing the Protocol, Turkey issued a unilateral declaration restating its longstanding position of non-recognition of the Republic of Cyprus. Last week the European Community and its Member States issued a declaration setting out its position on the issues raised. That declaration makes clear that the 'declaration by Turkey is unilateral, does not form part of the Protocol and has no legal effect on Turkey's obligations under the Protocol'. Furthermore, it states that 'Turkey must apply the Protocol fully to all European Union Member States' and that the 'European Union will monitor this closely and evaluate full implementation in 2006'. The declaration also restates that the European Community and its Member States 'recognise only the Republic of Cyprus as a subject of international law' and clarifies that 'recognition of all Member States is a necessary component of Turkey's accession process'."@en1
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