WRITTEN QUESTION E-2151/01

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Council

(20 July 2001)

Subject: Threats by Turkey

In a document, No 9120 dated 13 June 2001, entitled Honouring of obligations and commitments by Turkey (which was approved on 28 June 2001 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), Turkey refuses to allow the Ecumenical Patriarchate freely to dispose of its real estate or to accept donations of real estate, whereas the Turkish State has in fact expropriated part of the Patriarchate's property. As regards the Greek population of Imvros and Tenedos (islands which, under the Treaty of Lausanne signed by Turkey in 1923, should be self-governing), the remaining inhabitants of Greek origin number only 250 of the 3000 living there in 1965, while 7-8000 Turkish settlers have been moved in.

At the same time as Turkey has subjected its non-Muslim population to such acts of oppression, the Foreign Minister, Mr I. Cem, speaking on the CNN Turk television network on 29 June 2001, repeated the threats concerning his country's response if Cyprus were to join the Union, words which were echoed by the Turkish Minister responsible for Cypriot affairs, Sükru Sina Gürel, on his arrival (2 July 2001) in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. A day before Mr Gürel issued his threats, the Turkish Agriculture Minister, Husnu Yusuf Gokalp; had stated in an interview in Kibris, a newspaper published in the self-styled state, that the occupied territories' energy problem could be solved by building a nuclear reactor there.

What is the Council's position regarding the Council of Europe's damning report on Turkey? What is its view of the constant threats by Turkish officials against Cyprus, an applicant country for accession and a Member State of the UN? Will the Council call on the Turkish authorities to refrain from any action or statement which indicates their intent to destabilise the south-eastern Mediterranean, or which might result in an unprecedented environmental disaster, since there are obvious risks involved in setting up reactors in earthquake-prone regions?

Reply

(6 December 2001)

The EU has clearly indicated to Turkey, on the occasion of meetings for political dialogue and in particular at the last Association Council, that it expected Turkey to comply with all its international obligations, particularly in the field of human rights, including the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The priorities set out by the EU in the Accession Partnership also include the guaranteeing and implementation of the rights and freedoms set forth in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

Turkey is well informed of the positions of the European Union concerning the Cyprus question, as expressed on several occasions, namely by the Helsinki and Nice European Councils and in the Accession Partnership under the heading of Enhanced Political Dialogue and Political Criteria, and during meetings for political dialogue with Turkey. The EU fully supports the efforts of the Secretary General of the United Nations to achieve an overall agreement on the problem of Cyprus that respects the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, and to reach a positive conclusion to the process begun in December 1999. It is also aware of the content of Resolution 1256 (2001) on the Honouring of obligations and commitments by Turkey, which the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted on 28 June 2001 during its 23rd session.

The question of the installation of a nuclear reactor in northern Cyprus has not been raised with the Council.