Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-01-Speech-4-034"
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"en.20040401.2.4-034"2
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"Mr President, Turkey is an important subject on which opinions are very much divided. After numerous discussion sessions and amendments in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, the resolution proposed by the rapporteur, Mr Oostlander, seems to me to be well enough balanced to be voted through. I shall vote in favour of it – provided, of course, that this balance is not upset by the adoption in plenary of new amendments that are unduly harsh on Turkey.
Not that we need to be soft on Turkey in any way. Indeed, it is imperative that we insist on the radical reforms that the Turkish Government must implement if it is eventually to meet the Copenhagen criteria. This insistence and these demands, reaffirmed on countless occasions by the European Parliament and the Commission, have actually begun to bear fruit. Mr Erdogan’s Government, strengthened by the outcome of the last elections, and the Turkish Grand National Assembly have already adopted laws that move in the right direction. It is essential, of course, that these new laws are properly implemented in practice, and there is certainly a need for other laws and a new constitution. People’s mindsets, of course, have to be changed too, and that is never easy; in fact, it is the most difficult task of all. Progress has already been made, however, and we in Parliament, far from breaking this momentum, must encourage it to grow.
One of the great merits of this process preparing the way for future Turkish accession to the European Union is that it encourages reforms leading to pluralist democracy, a modern economy and respect for individual rights. The last of these calls to mind the case of Leyla Zana, and it is my fervent wish that the reform process will lead quickly to the long-awaited just and equitable resolution of this situation.
In short, the ongoing reform process has already been of great value in drawing us closer to Turkey and in forging increasingly firm bonds of mutual trust between Turkey and ourselves. The fact is that we are in greater need of these bonds. Our future, and particularly our security in the wider sense of the term, depends to a great extent on good relations with the great country of Turkey. We must therefore continue to cultivate these relations with vigour and conviction against a background of hope in the opening of accession negotiations at the beginning of next year."@en1
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