Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-03-08-Speech-2-564-500"
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"en.20110308.26.2-564-500"2
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"Every year, we hold a debate on Turkey’s membership of the EU. As a general rule, the problems raised are the same – Turkey makes a certain amount of progress in bringing itself into line with EU requirements, but the progress is never satisfactory enough to give a clear indication of an approximate date for accession, or to state whether the country will, in fact, ever join the EU. The changes which have already been made are beneficial, but the EU’s failure to adopt a clear position on Turkey’s accession is a source of frustration for the Turkish authorities and the country’s citizens. We cannot, of course, demand that the Member States take an identical view of the matter, but our indecisiveness means that the EU appears to lack credibility. Support for EU membership is falling among Turkish citizens. The country may start to look for new allies and turn away from the West, which would be disadvantageous to Europe. Turkey is our strategic partner in economic, regional and energy matters, and it is also a significant military force and a key player in the Middle East. The problematic areas are always the same – human rights and civil liberties, the rights of women and national minorities, the rule of law, reform of the judiciary, corruption, freedom of the press and freedom of speech – and they still fall a long way short of European standards, despite the efforts that have been made. Whether the negotiation process can be accelerated depends on how quickly and how effectively Turkey can fulfil the conditions imposed on it, and on the form of membership that the EU proposes to the country."@en1
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