Mr President, Commissioner, it is indeed the case that, in December 2004, the European Union will have to set a date for the opening of negotiations with Turkey on its future accession. This is certainly a highly significant step. I must say, on behalf of the majority of my group, that Turkey should take its place as a full member of the European Union. It is a country whose history and geography make it part of Europe. Contrary to what some people have claimed, either openly or behind a veil of spurious pretexts, the problem with Turkey is not its religious identity. Certain political elements, moreover, are still trying to exert pressure to have the so-called Judaeo-Christian foundations of Europe enshrined in the draft Constitution in order to make it difficult or even impossible for Turkey to accede to the Union. Be that as it may, the problem with Turkey is its political system, dominated by the armed forces and by the national laws and constitution, which are still far from compatible with democratic principles; the problem also lies in its unacceptable treatment of the Kurdish minority, even though that minority accounts for a quarter of the entire population. Admittedly, since 2001 Turkey has been pursuing a reform process based on the Copenhagen criteria. As this House has observed on several occasions, however, these reforms leave a number of significant restrictions on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. The report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy also endorses this analysis, having incorporated amendments tabled by our group, particularly those concerning Leyla Zana, the Kurdish question and the recognition of the genocide committed against the Armenians. It is true that Turkey has not always had a coherent framework enabling it to guarantee political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. Its current constitution was adopted in 1982, under the military regime, and still bears the seal of authoritarianism. The armed forces continue to play a predominant role in political, economic and cultural life and in the education system. They are the very cornerstone of the state and society and are therefore one of the main obstacles to the development of Turkey towards a democratic and pluralist system of government. Change is slow, involving homeopathic remedies and often designed to bring about superficial improvements, and we cannot fail to recognise that there remain some very serious problems. Leyla Zana, who won the Sakharov Prize awarded by the European Parliament, and three other former Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Kurdish origin who were convicted in 1994, remain in prison. The appeal process that we helped to initiate is being conducted in appalling conditions, as the European Parliament delegation, on which Feleknas Uca and Luigi Vinci represent my group, has observed at every hearing. Leyla Zana and her colleagues even refused to take part in the twelfth hearing in protest against these new proceedings in which their fate is a foregone conclusion. The Kurdish HADEP party has been banned, and the DEHAP party is under similar threat. Numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are still being disregarded. Proceedings have been initiated against people for nothing more than a peaceful expression of their opinion. Human-rights activists are subjected by the authorities to harassment and intimidation or criminal investigation. The rights of trade unions are not guaranteed. Torture and maltreatment are still rife, particularly in police stations and prisons. Minorities are victims of discrimination, one example being the Kurds, whose economic, social and cultural rights have yet to be fully recognised. I listened carefully, Commissioner, to everything you said, but some questions remain unanswered with regard to Cyprus, particularly in relation to the continuing military occupation of the northern part of the island. Lastly, all of these factors prompted our colleague from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy to write in his report, and I quote: ‘Meeting the political criteria of Copenhagen is a precondition for opening accession negotiations’. For the majority of my group, the democratisation of the Turkish institutions, genuine respect for fundamental rights, recognition of the rights of the Kurdish people, the release of Leyla Zana and the resolution of the Cypriot question are fundamental criteria which must be met if we are to approve the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey.

Political group: GUE-NGL