59th EU-TURKEY Joint Parliamentary Committee Mtg in Brussels

Turkish MPs and Foreign Minister on reforms, accession prospects - and Cyprus
Relations extérieures - 28-05-2008 - 18:28

Secularism, freedom of speech and Cyprus were among the issues debated at meetings between MEPs and Turkish MPs on Tuesday and Wednesday. The 59th EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Meeting discussed ongoing reform efforts in Turkey, the state of accession negotiations, and foreign affairs. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn were among the participants.

"Turkey is a focal point for its geographic position," said co-Chair Yasar Yakis, who is the Chair of the Turkish National Assembly's EU Integration Committee, adding that Turkey "can give impetus to Europe’s economy once it joins the EU." From the EP side, co-Chair Joost Lagendijk (Greens/EFA, NL) noted that there have been "a lot of misunderstandings in recent months between European and Turkish parliamentarians," explaining that the goal of such Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPCs) was to make sure that the discourses connect, and such misunderstandings can be brought into the open, if not necessarily solved.

Accession negotiations

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said his country was committed to EU membership, and warned that "if we were to lose the target of EU membership, we would have trouble keeping the momentum for reform." "Privileged partnerships, or other forms of association are not acceptable to us," he added, warning that some EU Member States seem to want to prevent Turkey from achieving its aims. He added that "while we are asked to give concrete dates for reforms, there has been no date hinted at for a deadline for Turkish accession to the EU." Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said "it was always clear that for Turkey, accession negotiations were never going to be a fast-track procedure," adding that the fundamental principle of all enlargements was that "the pace of negotiations depends on reform and especially implementation" in the candidate states.

The author of the Parliament's report on Turkey, adopted at last week's plenary session, Ria Oomen-Ruijten (EPP-ED, NL), said "when Turkey becomes a modern country where the rule of law prevails, and all individual freedoms are respected, it will be a prosperous place with social cohesion." She nevertheless warned that "the EU once gave a date for accession to two countries, Bulgaria and Romania, and very much regretted doing so." "The EU," she said, "would most likely not do so again," adding that "you don't need a date in order to affect reforms."

Political reforms in Turkey: freedom of expression; the AKP closure case

Several MEPs asked about the recent amendment of Article 301 (of the Turkish penal code on "insults to Turkishness"), noting that the revised law still does not guarantee freedom of expression as understood by the EU. Mr Babacan replied: "The approach taken to the Article is more important than the actual words," of the current legislation, as "the change made is at least a sign which shows that our Parliament is not satisfied with the current situation in Turkey."

Marios Matsakis (ALDE, CY) asked about the court case against the ruling AKP party, warning that a decision to ban the party "would spell the end of accession negotiations for Turkey." The Foreign Minister replied that the AKP did not want to increase tensions in Turkey by submitting a constitutional amendment to the Parliament on this issue, which could lift the basis for the legal case. He nevertheless said that he "hopes this subject will soon be off Turkey's agenda," so that the reform plans can continue.

Cyprus the main focus of Foreign Affairs Committee in exchange of views with Babacan

On Wednesday, the Foreign Minister also appeared before the EP's Foreign Affairs Committee, where MEPs concentrated on Turkey's immediate neighbourhood. Hannes Swoboda (PES, AT) asked why Armenian-Turkish relations have not improved, István Szent-Iványi (ALDE, HU) urged Mr Babacan to respect the territorial sovereignty of Iraq, and Chairman Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP-ED, PL) asked about Turkey's energy policy, especially concerning the Nabucco pipeline. Mr Babacan replied that his government had contacted the Armenian authorities and were hoping for official contacts in the near future, and assured MEPs that Turkey was respecting the sovereignty of Iraq, and "only targeting terrorists from the PKK in Northern Iraq." On Nabucco, he said his government supported the project, but the involvement of so many countries made progress much slower than expected.

The largest number of questions to the Foreign Minister concerned Cyprus. Ioannis Kasoulides (EPP-ED, CY) asked about the implementation of the Ankara Protocol (requiring access to Turkish ports and airports for all EU Member States, including Cyprus), while others wondered about the ongoing negotiations for the future of the island. Mr Babacan replied that on the Ankara Protocol, Turkey "has a different interpretation about the meaning of the protocol," but that a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue would automatically solve its problems. He urged MEPs to "give full support to the process on the island, since the window of opportunity may not stay open forever," and noted that Turkey has an official "guarantor role on the island," including "responsibility for the security of the people there," and intends to live up to this responsibility.




27/05/2008
Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs : Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP-ED, PL)
Co-chair, EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee : Joost Lagendijk (Greens/EFA, NL)
Co-chair, EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee : Yasar Yakis (Turkish National Assembly)

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-29928-148-05-22-903-20080526IPR29927-27-05-2008-2008-false/default_fr.htm