Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-01-Speech-4-039"
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"en.20040401.2.4-039"2
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"Madam President, I join with others in thanking the rapporteur for giving us an excellent basis for our debate on this very sensitive subject this morning. I would also like to thank Commissioner Verheugen for having come from Switzerland late yesterday evening to inform us of the situation regarding the talks with Cyprus, which is intimately linked with our debate this morning.
Two weeks ago I attended the EU-Cyprus Joint Parliamentary Committee, and while there was little optimism, there was a real desire for the two communities to be united on 1 May. We hope very much that this will take place.
On Turkish accession to the Union, Mr Verheugen gave us a very detailed analysis of the political and economic reforms that have been made. I welcome, as others have, his belief that a clear objective assessment should be made on the basis of the Copenhagen criteria.
I have a copy of the Copenhagen criteria of 21-22 June 1993 in front of me. It states that: 'Membership requires that the candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.' However, then it states: 'The Union's capacity to absorb new members, while maintaining the momentum of European integration, is also an important consideration in the general interest of both the Union and the candidate countries.'
Much has been said in this debate about the great progress Turkey is making, but very little has been said about the Union's capacity to absorb a country of the size and nature of Turkey. Therefore, we need now to look not only at Turkey's ability to join the Union, but also at our ability to absorb it.
When coming to the question of the big picture – which Mr Duff mentioned – many in my political group believe that this involves the ability of the Union to absorb Turkey on the one side and the Turkish ability to meet those criteria on the other. We believe, therefore, that there should be a fundamental assessment of the institutional capacity of the Union to absorb Turkey and that this should be part of the Commission's report in October. So we should have the courage to look at the situation in a very clear and reasonable manner.
Therefore, with 25 Member States from 1 May, 21 languages, no post-2006 financial perspective in view until 2005 at the earliest, and doubts about whether a Constitutional Treaty will be agreed and ratified, the most sensible thing would be to say that there is real uncertainty in the Union's current political situation, and to be extremely cautious before giving Turkey the green light at this stage."@en1
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