Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-05-Speech-2-231"
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"en.20000905.12.2-231"2
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"Mr President, first of all, I should like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Morillon, most sincerely for his most thorough report. I am glad that we have been able to achieve far-reaching agreement. I am also pleased that Parliament has responded very quickly to the common position unanimously adopted in the Council. Above all, I am glad that Parliament is able to accept far and away the greater part of this position, as proposed by the Commission.
The report now proposes adding three points to the draft regulation. I am able to tell you that the Commission shares Parliament’s view on these points. The Commission will therefore examine the relevant amendments proposed by the European Parliament, inform the Council as soon as possible of its position and ask it to conclude the legislative procedure.
A special importance attaches to this draft regulation for it constitutes the last of the three pillars of financial aid for Turkey, the others being the measures in favour of Turkey in the framework of the MEDA programme and the regulation issued by the Council in April. All these financial resources are designed to support implementation of the pre-accession strategy. The purpose of the strategy is to equip Turkey for entering into negotiations. That will only come about when basic political, economic and social reforms have been implemented.
Improvements in relations between the Union and Turkey following the European Council, meeting in Helsinki, have enabled us to speak openly and frankly with each other on all issues. The strengthened political dialogue at all levels characteristic of the climate following Helsinki has made a decisive contribution to this state of affairs. I also have to say that open and frank discussions which sometimes address painful themes and touch upon sensitive issues are indispensable if we want to travel all the way down the path which lies before us.
I should like to take the opportunity to re-emphasise that we await a firm commitment on the part of Turkey to continuing with the process of reform that has been begun. A few weeks ago, Turkey signed both UN conventions on civil and political rights and on economic and social rights. I believe that this is of a piece with the decision we made last year and may be regarded as a successful outcome. I welcome Turkey’s signature of these documents as an important step in the right direction. However, I should also like to emphasise that it is now a question of both conventions quickly being ratified by the Turkish Parliament and of the commitments contained in these also being put into practice.
On my last visit to Turkey in July, I was informed in detail of an inter-ministerial commission’s report, then before the government, on the reforms needed if the Copenhagen criteria are to be fulfilled. The report contains a host of proposed reforms for improving the human rights situation. However, it is now a question of the Turkish Government’s putting the proposed reforms into effect within the framework of a consistent legislative programme. I also expressly insisted upon this in the course of the discussions in Turkey.
As you know, the European Council, meeting in Helsinki, has confirmed that it is essential for Turkey firstly to comply with the political accession criteria if its relations with the European Union are to become any closer. This will also be the theme in preparing the Accession Partnership which the Commission is to submit in the autumn of this year on the instructions of the Council."@en1
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