Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-20-Speech-3-328"
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"en.20100120.18.3-328"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, I have pleasure in addressing this Chamber regarding a matter of extreme importance for the European Union, which is the matter of relations with Turkey and, more specifically, the democratisation of Turkey, which seems to be the main objective of the debate, a matter directly related to the Union, not just indirectly, but also directly, bearing in mind that Turkey is a candidate country.
It has the status of a candidate country that has been negotiating for several years to join the European Union and, as is known, among the political requirements of Copenhagen, we require that a country that wishes to join the Union has stable political institutions and guarantees democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for minorities.
Therefore, Turkey must fulfil these requirements. There are several chapters open for possible negotiation. Some are open, others are not yet open, other negotiations are stalled, and it is plain that Turkey is of great strategic importance to the Union. Firstly, because it is a country which has a European perspective and, furthermore, because it is a large country of growing strategic importance from the point of view of energy supply and it is a country with unquestionable economic and also, of course, political relevance. Turkey, by the way, is part of NATO and, therefore, in that respect, for some of the countries of the European Union, Turkey is also an associate in the sphere of that military alliance.
It must be said that Turkey has experienced positive changes. The European perspective has given Turkey particular motivation to follow a path, in a positive sense, towards democratising changes and democratic consolidation. The current Turkish Government has even launched what it calls the ‘democratic initiative’ as a response to the need for a series of institutional changes to the Turkish political system en route to its democratisation. In relation to the European Union, its interest has even been demonstrated within the government, with the appointment of Minister Bağış, to whom I have spoken many times, specifically responsible for negotiation with the European Union, which is his portfolio.
Hence, we can see how, on the one hand, Turkey has launched reforms, incentivised, no doubt, by the European perspective, but, on the other, inadequacies still clearly persist in the specific area on which this debate is focused, the area of democracy and respect for fundamental liberties.
We still consider as insufficient the levels of protection and the guarantee of certain freedoms, such as freedom of expression, of the press, of religion, or the rights of unions, the rights of minority groups, the rights of women and children, the fight against discrimination and equality between men and women. This has led us to propose to Turkey, as part of this process, a series of constitutional reforms, without which it would be difficult to move forward in any of those areas.
Therefore, as established in the framework for negotiations with Turkey, the European Union wishes to move forward along these lines and, what is more, will direct Turkey when necessary and when it considers that a certain type of measure is not moving in that direction or could make progress difficult.
This actually happened on the occasion of the decision adopted on 11 December by the Turkish Constitutional Court to dissolve the DTP (
) and to prevent a number of its democratically elected representatives from carrying out any political activity. The Presidency of the Council expressed its concern about that decision adopted by the Court at the time and there has clearly been a voice from the European Union sharply pointing out its concern at that decision. Furthermore, that voice is encouraging the necessary reforms in Turkish legislation to adapt the regulation on political parties to certain recommendations formulated by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the relevant regulations of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which, by the way, has been signed and ratified by the Turkish State and submitted to the jurisdiction, in this case, of the Strasbourg Court.
Hence I conclude, Madam President. The Presidency of the Council will continue giving much importance to this matter. Every aspect of the reform process currently taking place in Turkey will be closely followed and, in any case, within a framework which we consider to be positive, which is a framework of negotiation and association for membership. We think this is a strategic framework that we must continue with, and the intention of the current Spanish Presidency of the Council is that new avenues of negotiation should continue to open up and therefore, as happened last year with Turkey, we would be able to go into depth in those negotiations."@en1
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"Demokratik Toplum Partisi"1
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