Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-20-Speech-1-109"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100920.19.1-109"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the main reason for this report is that Turkey is among the European Union’s most important trading partners. Official statistics show that Turkey is the world’s 17th largest, and Europe’s sixth largest, economy, as well as the European Union’s seventh largest trading partner. In 2008, trade between the European Union and Turkey reached its highest point of EUR 100 billion per annum.
Seventh, we should point out the main challenge which Turkey’s labour market faces, which is the low level of participation by women, who tend to be employed in the grey sector. Turkey therefore needs to put women’s employment at the centre of its economic and social policy.
The Commission and the Council need to review visa procedures which hamper the movement of Turkish businessmen and truck drivers and are an obstacle to trade. At the same time, the Commission needs to verify whether Member States are complying with the rulings of the European Court of Justice on this matter.
There are other aspects in the report where the political groups in the European Parliament reached a compromise, but in addition to that, I took it upon myself to table two amendments related to updating the statistics on poverty and unemployment in Turkey, and a short comment on the referendum on constitutional reform which is expected to promote the democratisation process in Turkey and lead to the more effective implementation of free market principles.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that the forthcoming debate in the plenary session will reflect the same spirit of cooperation and constructiveness we witnessed during the discussions in the Committee on International Trade.
In this context, we can summarise the main accents and guidelines for action set out in the report of the Commission on External Trade in several points:
First, although the customs union, which has been in place since 1996, has been an undisputable success for economic and trade integration between the European Union and Turkey, non-tariff restrictions remain in place, as do excessive red tape and complex bureaucratic procedures which Turkey should act promptly to address.
Second, the Commission should continue its engagement and dialogue with Turkey in the field of trade, particularly in the framework of the Joint Consultative Committee and the Customs Union Joint Committee. More effective use needs to be made of these platforms if we are to resolve outstanding problems soon.
Turkey needs to stop its discriminatory practices against foreign enterprises by means of the 15 percent bias given to Turkish bidders in public procurement tenders.
The European Union has free trade agreements with third countries with which Turkey has not yet managed to conclude such agreements. This has a negative effect on the Turkish economy, as it gives European Union partners one-sided, privileged access to the Turkish market.
Whilst acknowledging the difficulties confronting Turkey in making such agreements, we call upon the Commission and the Council to ensure that Turkey is included in the impact assessment of the forthcoming free trade agreements with third countries, and that information on the European Union’s position and on the state of negotiations on these agreements is transferred.
Fifth, counterfeit goods are a serious problem in bilateral trade relations. They make Turkey less attractive to direct foreign investment, and Turkey therefore needs to effectively apply its new legislation regarding intellectual property rights.
Sixth, Turkey is an influential regional power and plays an extremely important role in the Black Sea and Caucasus regions, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia. The European Union could benefit greatly from these regional platforms, as they give access to new markets and provide new opportunities which will contribute to strengthening economic ties between those regions and the European Union."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples