WRITTEN QUESTION P-2583/02

by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Council

(10 September 2002)

Subject: Harmonisation of Turkish legislation with Community law

A few days ago, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Mr M. Yilmaz, convened a meeting of the ambassadors of the 15 Member States of the Union to inform them of the package of measures designed to bring Turkish legislation into line with Community law.

However, the following observations have been made from numerous quarters:

- the package does not refer to the personal assets of individuals of Member State origin who were or are resident in Turkey but only to the purchase and sale of property by the religious institutions of the communities to which such individuals belong,

- neither does the package make reference to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul since it is not even now recognised as having legal personality and is compelled to register its property in the name of clerics and private individuals. The result of this situation is that the Patriarchate has only one main property (the orphanage on the island of Prinkipos) which a document describes as being occupied by the Turkish Directorate-General for Church Property. There are misgivings in this respect that the Turkish administration is manoeuvring to prevent the change in the law being used and to annul the registration of the orphanage in the name of the Patriarchate,

- the provisions announced by Turkey do not have retroactive effect, as Mr Yilmaz stressed to the Community ambassadors. Article 4A of the package refers only to future acquisition or sale of real property. The purchase or sale of property by institutions will still require authorisation by the Turkish Council of Ministers, which may cause insuperable problems

for institutions wishing to do so. However, the positive aspect of this entire affair is that for the first time Turkey recognises that it has pursued a discriminatory policy for decades against minorities living on its territory and is now trying, under pressure from the EU, to allow the acquisition of property by minority institutions and communities.

When exactly will these (albeit limited) provisions enter into force? How will the Council ensure that these provisions take effect retroactively to make amends, even in part, for the unprecedented injustices suffered by Christians of all denominations and Jews who lived in Turkey who were deprived of their property en masse and forced to leave the country?

Reply

(18 February 2003)

The provisions referred to by the Honourable Member are part of a reform package adopted by the Turkish Parliament on 3 August which the EU had welcomed in a declaration on 6 August as an important step forward. They have been examined in detail, in particular in the context of preparation of the Commission Regular Report on Turkey held on 9 October. The Regular Report provides a full and thorough assessment of the new provisions on religious Foundations and identify possible shortcomings.

As also underlined in the declaration of 6 August, the EU expects swift and comprehensive implementation of those reforms. In that respect, the Turkish government has given instructions for the necessary measures to be taken rapidly. In this respect, however, the by-law on religious foundations issued in the meantime appears to be highly restrictive. This point was made to Turkey on the occasion of the Political Directors troika in Ankara on 31 October, when Turkey gave assurances that possible difficulty in implementation would be adequately addressed with the necessary flexibility. A specific date for entry into force can not, however, be indicated yet.

The Council would invite the Honourable Member to approach the Commission regarding the implementation of the Accession Partnership.