WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2489/97 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Council. Shameless Turkish provocation aimed at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Date: 1997-07-28
Institutions: European Parliament, KAKLAMANIS
Subjects: Christianity, Türkiye, human rights, religious discrimination, religious group, rights of minorities

30. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134/9

A similar question has been raised in a case currently pending before the Court of Justice (Case C-100/96 The
Queen v. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ex parte British Agrochemicals Association Ltd (2)). The
Advocate General gave his conclusions in this case on 2 October 1997. No date has yet been fixed for the Court(cid:146)s
judgment.

(1)  OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.
(2)  OJ C 145, 18.5.1996.

(98/C 134/12)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2489/97

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council

(28 July 1997)

Subject: Shameless Turkish provocation aimed at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

In  an  unprecedented  move,  the  Turkish  Embassy  in  Brussels  has  sent  a  letter  signed  by  Counsellor  Cemil
Karaman to Mr Etienne Quintiens, the Secretary of the Commission of Christian Churches in Belgium, notifying
him that there was no (cid:145)Ecumenical Patriarchate(cid:146) in Istanbul, but a (cid:145)Patriarchate of the Fanar(cid:146), and threatening that
letters addressed to the (cid:145)Ecumenical Patriarchate(cid:146) would be returned to the sender.

Will the Council state its views on this shameless act of Turkish provocation, and say how it intends to react to
actions by a country which aspires to EU membership, but shows no sign of behaving like a European state?

Answer

(15 January 1998)

The Council would point out that the question of human rights is regularly on the agenda in the political dialogue
between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey. In this framework, the Council will make constant
efforts to promote a conciliatory approach, concerning in particular:

› 

the application of internal laws and regulations;

›  compliance with the obligations (cid:150) guaranteed by an international Treaty (cid:150) of the Turkish State towards its

non-Muslim minorities;

› 

the religious and spiritual aspirations of a large number of Christians around the world, who for historical
and  canonical  reasons  of  their  own  may  consider  His  Holiness  the  Ecumenical  Patriarch  as  first  among
equals (primus inter pares) of the Orthodox Patriarchs and Archbishops. In this context, the possibility of
communication can be of major importance.

(98/C 134/13)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2490/97

by Werner Langen (PPE) to the Council

(28 July 1997)

Subject: Non-payment of Socrates funds

The  Commission  intends  to  pay  the  beneficiaries  30%  of  the  appropriations  for  Action  1  of  the  Socrates
programme  only  on  submission  of  the  final  report.  This  will  involve  considerable  disadvantages  for  the
universities taking part:

›  Firstly, the announcement of how the funds are to be distributed is not made until after completion of the
application  phase,  whereas  with  other  EU  aid  programmes  this  information  is  made  known  before
applications are made.

›  Secondly,  the  breakdown  in  the  allocation  represents  a  clear  departure  from  the  practice  in  previous

programmes.