Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-13-Speech-1-060"
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"en.20041213.10.1-060"2
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".
Mr President, today you will debate an important report by Mr Eurlings on the 2004 regular report and the recommendation of the European Commission on Turkey's progress towards accession. This debate is timely in view of the decision the European Council will take on Friday with regard to the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey.
As the Commission has already stated in its recommendations and as I can see in the Eurlings report, the clear advice is that the decision will need to be inextricably bound up with, for example, close monitoring of the reform process to ensure the irreversibility of that process and its full, effective and comprehensive implementation.
In addition the Commission has, in its recommendations, addressed concerns in Europe relating to Turkey's accession – for example concerns about the budgetary impact, or about the free movement of workers. In other words, this decision on Turkey will also have to be sufficiently forward-looking. The Netherlands presidency has extensively consulted Member States in order to prepare for a sustainable decision on Friday that does justice to the interests of the European Union and of Turkey.
Last Tuesday the Prime Minister of the Netherlands visited Greece and Cyprus: two countries that, as close neighbours, have specific interests in this decision. Today the Prime Minister went to Berlin and Paris; tomorrow he will be in Austria. I was in Turkey last week, where I had the chance to meet Prime Minister Erdogan and the Foreign Minister, Mr Gul.
As you know, Turkey also has a number of concerns, such as the suggested permanent safeguard clauses and the Commission's paragraph saying that by their very nature negotiations are an open-ended process, the outcome of which cannot be guaranteed beforehand. Lastly, Turkey is afraid that new criteria other than the political Copenhagen criteria will be imposed.
I know that you have already had and today will again have an intense debate on Turkey, including on the elements of the decision that I have mentioned. I welcome this. I am convinced that a comprehensive debate on Turkey's accession to the EU is a prerequisite for a good outcome. For the decision to be sustainable we need political and public support. The Netherlands presidency is working towards a fair and balanced decision that will be based on the fulfilment of the Copenhagen political criteria. In this context we welcome the thorough and constructive work undertaken by your rapporteur and the Committee on Foreign Affairs in this regard. We look forward to a resolution being adopted by Parliament on 15 December.
When we look back to the European Council in Helsinki in December 1999 and try to visualise where Turkey was at that moment in terms of its preparation for the EU, we can conclude that Turkey has made impressive progress. It is no exaggeration to state that Turkey is changing with almost revolutionary speed.
The fall of the Berlin Wall created the conditions for rapid change in the central and eastern European countries that have become new EU Member States since May this year. For Turkey there was no such catalyst for change except the long-standing aspiration to join Europe and probably the desire for drastic economic change after the devastating economic crises in 2000 and 2001.
It is interesting to note in the Commission report of October the increasing interaction between the drive for accession and the tremendous modernisation that the Copenhagen criteria have stimulated in Turkey. The Commission quite rightly concludes that this modernisation is in the interests of both Turkey and the European Union and concludes that accession, if well-managed, would offer important opportunities for both.
At the same time, it is true that the challenges on Turkey's road to Europe are still considerable. This has also been recognised in the report by your rapporteur. The report notes the earlier commitments vis-à-vis Turkey and welcomes the substantial reforms Turkey has achieved in order to comply with the Copenhagen criteria. The report also mentions a number of concerns that still exist with regard to the implementation of the reforms.
The report considers that accession negotiations should be opened without undue delay and underlines three important provisions. Firstly, in the first phase of the negotiations priority should be given to the full implementation of the political criteria. Secondly, the six important remaining pieces of legislation should be adopted and brought into force prior to the beginning of the negotiations. Thirdly, all mechanisms envisaged by the Commission to ensure close monitoring and intensive political dialogue and the possible suspension of negotiations should be fully effective.
I also want to mention another important element that has been raised in the report by your rapporteur, as well as by the Commission. In the report the need is underlined to inform citizens of both the EU and Turkey, through an intensive political and cultural dialogue, in order to increase awareness of the integration process and foster mutual understanding. I fully agree with this.
Like the Eurlings report, the Council has in its preparation for Friday's decision taken the Commission's report and recommendations as its point of departure. They provide a thorough, comprehensive and good basis for the decision on the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey.
Today the Council discussed the draft conclusions in preparation for the decision that the European Council will have to take on Friday. This decision entails more than a simple 'yes' or 'no' to the question of whether or not to open accession negotiations with Turkey."@en1
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