Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-13-Speech-1-149"
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"en.20041213.10.1-149"2
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"Mr President, I would firstly like to thank my colleague, Mr Eurlings, for his excellent report, which takes account of different points of view. Although I myself am more critical of Turkey’s accelerated accession, I nevertheless lend my strong support to adopting Mr Eurlings’s report.
What amazes me most about Turkey’s membership is the great haste in which it is being pursued. Many experts predict that the political strength to say no to Turkey will not be found anywhere in ten years’ time, even if she did not meet the conditions of membership. This haste could prove to be a big mistake.
In Turkey’s case, we cannot turn a blind eye to the matter of human rights. The conditions relating to human rights and those of minorities must be fully met before membership can be approved. I myself am also worried by how much Turkey’s membership will cost, and the fact that nobody seems to know this. External estimates suggest quite enormous sums of money. The contributions by the current net contributors would grow substantially. This in turn could increase public dissatisfaction with the EU.
After Turkey has joined, the Union will no longer be the same EU as it is now. For that reason, our citizens should have the right to express their own opinions about the issue. We should encourage the Member States to organise referenda on it. I fear that Turkey’s accelerated accession is too big a mouthful to swallow, and that the EU is likely to choke on it."@en1
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