Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-042"
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"en.20071024.4.3-042"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this lively debate was very useful to the Presidency. It has clearly demonstrated, if there were any doubt, how much the opinions and views of the many Members differ with regard to the negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union. However, regardless of the many opinions that may exist on this issue, I feel that this debate has clearly shown that Turkey is already a vital strategic partner of the European Union in political, economic and also security terms.
I also feel it is clear from this debate that the prospect of Turkey joining the European Union has been the driving force behind fundamental political and social reforms in Turkey. Clearly, some people regret that these reforms have not been as rapid or as extensive as might have been hoped, but the fact is that Turkey’s people and Government are making gradual progress along the road set out by us, towards an increasingly democratic and pluralistic society which more fully respects the rule of law.
The Copenhagen criteria, as the guide or reference framework for this whole negotiation process, are extremely clear for both Turkey and any other candidate countries: only those countries which clearly respect our economic principles and, in particular and perhaps even more importantly, our political principles can be members of the European Union. If Turkey fully complies with these criteria, then obviously it can become a member of the European Union. This is absolutely clear and therefore cannot, or at least should not, give rise to any doubts.
As regards the PKK’s terrorist attacks on the border between Turkey and Iraq, I would draw your attention to the Presidency’s statement of 22 October on this issue. In that statement, the Presidency totally condemned the terrorist violence perpetrated by the PKK and expressed our active solidarity with the victims’ families. We also noted that it is vital for the international community to support Turkey’s efforts to fight terrorism, while respecting the rule of law, preserving international peace and stability and regional stability, and naturally calling on Turkey to refrain from taking any disproportionate military action. We also call on both the Turkish Government and the Iraqi Government to effectively cooperate to address this problem and in particular to prevent Iraqi territory from being used for terrorist actions against Turkey."@en1
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