Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-025"
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"en.20041215.2.3-025"2
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".
Mr President, no matter how much you try to dance around the issue, the subject of Turkey is bound to be divisive. It is bound to create the kind of tensions and inflame the passions that we have seen not only here this morning, but also in our debate yesterday.
One of the most important issues that we have to look at as a Parliament and as a Union is: what message do we send if we refuse to open the door to negotiations with Turkey at the weekend? We set down certain rules and criteria which must be met by Turkey before negotiations can be allowed to begin. The Commission has laid out a very clear blueprint of how much has been achieved and what has yet to be done before we reach the final hurdle. But we have also demanded that Turkey should fulfil its responsibilities and duties. There is, for instance, the question of the recognition of Cyprus and the independence and integrity of Cyprus. Then there are certain human rights issues that were mentioned by Mr Coûteaux, the previous speaker.
It is interesting to hear a Kurd speaking about Turkey being part of the European Union. That is an important message that we should take acknowledge and follow. Our voice, our message, will determine whether or not the voice of moderate Muslims will be heard or whether we drive people back into a fundamentalist response and attitude. That is why, if we oppose Turkey coming into the European Union because we are fearful of its impact on our economies or its impact on the balance of power within the institutions, we should say so clearly. We should not try to hide behind some false pretence that it is going to change the way Europe operates forever.
The European Union of today is a very different animal from its 1973 incarnation. Indeed, one of the things that is lacking in the European Union of today is the vision and inspiration of the founding fathers who made the phoenix of peace, prosperity and solidarity rise from the ashes. The responsibility of and onus on this generation to extend a hand to other countries is as great today as it was in the 1940s and 1950s."@en1
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