WRITTEN QUESTION P-0767/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Projects in support of democracy and minority rights in Turkey

Can the Commission supply an exact list of projects to support and protect Turkish minorities and/or relating to the Kurdish question which it has supported in the EU in the past three years under the MEDA democracy programme?

To my astonishment, the word minority did not appear in the description of a single project under the MEDA programme 1996-1999, although I was under the impression that at least one conference on the Kurdish question had received financial support.

As from 2000, does the Commission expect to be able to sponsor projects which explicitly protect and support cultural, social and economic rights of minorities, either in Turkey itself or possibly elsewhere? Will the Commission exert the requisite diplomatic pressure to enable these projects to proceed without interference?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(23 March 2000)

Under the 1996-1999 Meda democracy programme (budget line B-7050) and concerning Turkey, the Commission financed the two projects that have now been completed. A project to strengthen civil society, human rights and democracy in Turkey ( 120 000) presented by the Foundation for the research of societal problems (TOSAV) aimed to cultivate moderation in both Turkish and Kurdish communities. A project on the training of the staff of trade unions and the establishment of a surveillance commission for freedom of trade unions in Turkey ( 150 000) was presented by the Confederation of progressive trade unions of Turkey (DISK).

The Commission has not included the word minority in its description of specific projects because the term is understood in Turkey in a very specific legal sense, inherited from international legal instruments of the 1920s (Treaty of Lausanne), and applied to just three recognised minority groups (Greeks, Jews and Armenians). Other groups, which might in an Member State be described as minorities (Alevi Muslims, Suriani Christians, Kurds, Laz, etc.) do not have this status in Turkey at present.

The conference to which the Honourable Member refers might be that organised by TOSAV in co-operation with the Centre for applied studies in international negotiations (CANSIN) in June 1998. This conference took place at the Centre international de conferences of the ecumenical institute (in Bossey Céligny) and was entitled The Dialogue: A Meeting of Turkish and Kurdish Opinion Leaders in Europe.

The Honourable Member may care to note, however, that during the period 1992-1998 the Commission financed a number of projects under budget line B-704, intended to promote greater respect for human rights in Turkey. The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and the Parliament's Secretariat a list of them.

The Commission intends to continue to work to improve the protection of human rights -including the rights of minority cultural, religious and linguistic groups in Turkey, and will continue to target project assistance to this end. As from year 2000, the two relevant budget lines (B-705 and B-704) will be managed by the same Commission service, so as to enhance complementarity.

The Commission hopes that, now that Turkey is a candidate, diplomatic pressure will not be required to ensure that projects receiving Community grant aid can operate without difficulty.