A4-0432/98

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the further development of relations with Turkey (COM(97)0394 - C4-0490/97) and on the communication from the Commission to the Council: European Strategy for Turkey - The Commission's initial operational proposals (COM(98)0124 - C4-0634/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the communications from the Commission (COM(97)0394 - C4-0490/97) and (COM(98)0124 - C4-0634/98),

- having regard to the report from the Commission on Turkey¨s progress towards accession,

- having regard to its resolution of 13 December 1995 on the human rights situation in Turkey ((OJ C 17, 22.1.1996, p. 46.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 19 September 1996 on the political situation in Turkey ((OJ C 320, 28.10.1996, p. 187.)),

- having regard to the conclusions of the EU-Turkey Association Council of 29 April 1997,

- having regard to its resolution of 17 July 1997 on the situation in Turkey and northern Iraq ((OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 258.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 17 September 1998 on the Commission reports on developments in relations with Turkey since the entry into force of the Customs Union (COM(96)0491 - C4-0605/96 and COM(98)0147- C4-0217/98) ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 8. )),

- having regard to its resolution of 8 October 1998 on the release of Leyla Zana ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 15(e).)),

- having regard to the conclusions of the European Councils of Copenhagen (21 and 22 June 1993), Luxembourg (12 and 13 December 1997) and of Cardiff (15 and 16 June 1998),

- having regard to Turkey¨s proposals of 17 July 1998 concerning a strategy for developing relations between Turkey and the European Union and the report of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Investigation Commission of 23 March 1998 on Relations between Turkey and the European Union,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy and the opinion of the Committee on External Economic Relations (A4-0432/98),

A. whereas Turkey has been associated with the European Community since the entry into force of the Ankara Agreement on 1 December 1964,

B. whereas Article 28 of the Association Agreement affirms Turkey¨s eligibility for membership of the European Union, an eligibility confirmed most recently in the Luxembourg European Council,

C. whereas all applicant countries to the Union have to fulfil a number of economic and political criteria, laid down at the Copenhagen European Council, before they can accede to the Union,

D. whereas despite repeated assurances by the government, the democratic deficit in Turkey has still not been eliminated and the need for lasting reform persists;

E. noting that the relations between the EU and Turkey, from the Association Agreement and via the implementation of the final phase of the Customs Union on 13 December 1995, constitute a longer and economically closer relationship than with the applicant countries from Central and Eastern Europe, thus requiring a different strategy from those countries for preparing accession,

F. whereas in July 1997 the Commission issued communication COM(97)0394 mentioned above,

G. whereas the Luxembourg European Council called for a strategy to be drawn up to prepare Turkey for accession by bringing it closer to the European Union in every field,

H. whereas the Commission¨s initial operational proposals on taking forward this strategy, published in March 1998 in its communication to the Council COM(98)0124 mentioned above, were welcomed by the Cardiff European Council, which also asked the Commission to table financial proposals to underpin its implementation, and invited Turkey to provide its own proposals to enrich the strategy,

I. whereas the Council to date has failed to agree on a legal basis for a financial protocol with Turkey,

J. noting that the report on Turkey¨s progress towards accession, based on Article 28 of the Association Agreement, referred to hereafter as the progress report, was adopted by the Commission on 4 November 1998 and will be submitted by the Commission to the European Council at the end of 1998,

K. noting, however, the negative position adopted by Turkey after the decision of the Luxembourg European Council and the absence of Turkey from the European Conference convened in London for all the candidate countries,

1. Reaffirms Turkey's eligibility to apply for membership of the EU, and believes that its membership could be an important contribution to peace and security in Europe;

2. Regrets that Turkey has so far not agreed to take part in the European Conference;

3. Rejects any reference to religious beliefs as a reason for rejecting Turkey's (or any other nation's) eligibility;

Economic Aspects

4. Notes that the criteria agreed at the Copenhagen European Council require that all applicant countries must achieve 'the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union¨;

5. Believes that, as a result of the Association Agreement and the Customs Union, these capacities are already being developed, without significant financial subsidies from the EU, and agrees with the Commission's progress report that the dynamism of the Turkish economy should 'enable Turkey in the medium term to acquire a viable market economy able to withstand the pressure of competition';

6. Recognises, however, that much work remains to be done if the Turkish economy is to be successfully integrated with that of the Union and underlines the specific difficulties associated with Turkey¨s size and the unequal regional distribution of wealth, as referred to in the Commission¨s progress report;

7. Endorses the Commission¨s proposals as a sound basis for dialogue with the Turks on how to develop the full possibilities of the Ankara Agreement and the Customs Union with a view to fulfilling these criteria as well as for the approximation of laws and the adoption of the Union acquis;

8. Supports the immediate implementation of those aspects of the Commission proposals which do not require financing;

9. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has made proposals to finance the strategy, noting that the Parliament will make its recommendations on these proposals in due course;

10. Calls on the Commission to examine which of the programmes intended for the candidate countries can include Turkey;

11. Recognises the need for developments in the sensitive areas of agriculture and services, hoping that advances will be possible on a step by step basis;

12. Agrees with the President-in-Office of the Council and the President of the Commission that any measures taken by the Turkish Government to impede bilateral trade flows with a Member State would be considered a violation of commitments under the Association Agreement and the Customs Union;

Political Aspects

13. Notes that the criteria agreed at the Copenhagen European Council require that all applicant countries must achieve 'stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities¨;

14. Agrees with the view of significant sections of Turkish civil society, and of the Commission, that Turkey is far from achieving these criteria;

15. Calls on the Turkish government to fulfil the promises made to Parliament concerning human rights and democratic reform at the time when Parliament gave its assent to the Customs Union;

16. Calls on Turkey to fulfil its obligations concerning democracy, human rights and freedom of expression under the Customs Union agreement with the EU and to put an end to persecution, imprisonment and torture, to which Kurds in particular are subjected;

17. Agrees with the Commission that no substantial progress has been achieved as regards human rights and the democratic reform process in Turkey since the Customs Union entered into force and that it is 'the sole responsibility of Turkey to improve the situation with regard to the pressing need to reinforce democracy and to protect human and minority rights';

18. Is disturbed by reports in the Turkish press concerning the close links between state representatives and illegal economic and paramilitary activities;

19. Believes that a resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey would have important implications for democracy, human rights and minority rights in Turkey and would bring Turkey significantly closer to fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria; considers in this regard that the cessation of terrorist activities by certain Kurdish organisations as declared in a ceasefire would be an undoubted step forward;

20. Calls for the release of Leyla Zana, the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize Laureate, and the release of all political prisoners;

21. Believes that the following would contribute substantially to a solution, one which respects Turkey¨s territorial integrity and which could be achieved through a dialogue between all the relevant forces of society, including the representatives of the Kurdish population:

- constitutionally guaranteed cultural rights including freedom of expression and publication in the Kurdish language as well as rights to mother tongue education in all parts of Turkey;

- democratic reforms which would allow the participation and fair representation of all interests in the Grand National Assembly including reform of the Law of Political Parties, the Law of Elections, and, in particular, the lowering of the 10% threshold for representation and the repeal of 'anti-terror legislation', especially the infamous Article 8 under which intellectuals, writers and political figures are still held in prison;

- reinforcement of the leadership and control of elected and democratic institutions over civilian and military administration including the removal of the military from their current constitutional role in the political system as steps towards the demilitarisation of Turkish society;

- the lifting of the State of Emergency in the East and South East provinces and the dismantling of the system of village guards in these areas;

- social and economic development for the benefit of the local population in those areas devastated by the violent conflict and which have suffered the long term effects of lack of investment and destruction of infrastructure;

22. Welcomes the unilateral ceasefire by the PKK and calls on Turkey to put an immediate stop to attacks on Kurdish targets;

23. Calls on the Turkish Government and the relevant authorities to implement the decisions taken by the courts and confirmed by the supreme administrative court in Turkey, notably in the complaints by citizens about environmental damage lodged against three coal-fired power stations on the Aegean coast and the activities of the firm EUROGOLD in the Bergama region;

24. Reaffirms that an additional political obstacle to Turkey's membership of the European Union is its continuing occupation of northern Cyprus and its consequent obstructive attitude to the accession process of another applicant country (Cyprus); urges the Turkish authorities to actively contribute to finding a political solution to Cyprus on the basis of the acceptance and implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and to remove its threat to annex northern Cyprus; urges the European Union to strengthen people-to-people contact between the two communities in Cyprus;

25. Expects Turkey to take steps to improve its relations with its neighbours, especially Greece, within the framework of international law; Invites Turkey to settle its disputes with Greece before the International Court of Justice;

26. Rejects political and economic interference by Turkey in the decisions of a Member State bound by the Treaty on European Union, the acquis communautaire and its national constitution;

27. Welcomes the opening of negotiations on the implementation of the Commission¨s European Strategy and calls for the resumption of political dialogue between the EU and Turkey and the strengthening of political dialogue between political forces in European and Turkish society, including with the Turkish armed forces;

Proposals

28. Considers that the main obstacles for Turkey¨s application to the European Union are political ones, as is also underlined in the Commission¨s progress report;

29. Asks the Turkish authorities, therefore, to make concrete proposals for action within a clear timeframe to bring Turkey closer to fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, especially the political criteria, and to include a detailed timetable; urges the Commission and Council to draw up, in conjunction with the Turkish authorities, a joint programme for Turkey's accession to the Union;

30. Calls for an international conference to be held on the Kurdish problem with a view to finding a political and peaceful solution acceptable to all parties involved;

31. Considers that the participation of Turkey in the European Conference has the potential to positively influence the integration of Turkey and the accession procedure and calls on Turkey to take part in the next meeting of the Conference;

32. Believes that the Commission's European strategy for Turkey, combined with adequate financing, could constitute an appropriate pre-accession strategy for Turkey;

33. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Council, the parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the countries taking part in the Europe Conference, the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the Turkish Government.