WRITTEN QUESTION No. 494/98 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Council. Application by the Turkish authorities of Article 14 of the Treaty of Lausanne
Date: 1998-02-27
Institutions: ALAVANOS, European Parliament
Subjects: Greece, Türkiye, accession to an agreement, democracy, freedom of religious beliefs, human rights, island, rights of minorities

C 304/120

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

2. 10. 98

(98/C 304/180)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0494/98

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(27 February 1998)

Subject: Application by the Turkish authorities of Article 14 of the Treaty of Lausanne

The sacrilegious attack on 3 February 1998 on the Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary on the island of
Imbros › the perpetrators of which remain at large yet again › is part of a longstanding systematic policy aimed
at terrorizing the Greek community on the island. This policy is pursued either directly, e.g. the procedure for
drawing up the land register in Gallipoli (my questions E-375/96 (1) and E-3973/96 (2)), or indirectly in the form
of the Turkish authorities(cid:146) scandalous inertia in failing to arrest those guilty of crimes against the Greek minority
and the Orthodox Church.

Article  14  of  the  Treaty  of  Lausanne  states:  (cid:145)The  islands  of  Imbros  and  Tenedos,  remaining  under  Turkish
sovereignty, shall enjoy a special administrative organization composed of local elements and furnishing every
guarantee for the native non-Moslem population in so far as concerns local administration and the protection of
person and property. The maintenance of order will be assured therein by a police force recruited from amongst
the local population by the local administration above provided for and placed under its orders.(cid:146)

What measures will the Council take to persuade Turkey to implement the above special provision of the Treaty,
the aim of which is to safeguard the human, religious and minority rights of the Greeks on Imbros and Tenedos?

(1)  OJ C 122, 25.4.1996, p. 39.
(2)  OJ C 186, 18.6.1997, p. 146.

Answer

(28 May 1998)

The Council regrets the recent developments and is well aware that, under the Treaty of Lausanne of July 1923,
the Turkish Government has undertaken commitments towards non-Moslem minorities regarding the protection
of persons and property.

The European Council, meeting in Luxembourg on 12 and 13 December 1997 recalled, in line with the Council
position expressed at the Association Council with Turkey on 29 April 1997, that strengthening Turkey(cid:146)s links
with the European Union also depended on Turkey(cid:146)s pursuit of reforms, including the alignment of human rights
standards  and  practices  on  those  in  force  in  the  European  Union  as  well  as  respect  for  and  protection  of
minorities, which also encompass religious minorities.

The Council expects all countries aspiring to membership of the European Union to respect international law and
their treaty obligations as well as to subscribe to the Union(cid:146)s goals.

The situation regarding democracy and human rights in Turkey remains high on the Council(cid:146)s agenda. These
issues are brought up regularly during contacts with the Turkish authorities.

(98/C 304/181)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0512/98

by Carlos Carnero Gonza·lez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 February 1998)

Subject: Use of Objective 2 Structural Funds in the Autonomous Community of Madrid

The media have recently been reporting criticisms by the Federation of Madrid Municipalities (FMM) of the way
in which the government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (CAM) has been managing the Structural
Funds received by the region under Objective 2. In view of the importance of this matter,

1. 

Is  the  Commission  aware  of  the  reasons  why  the  CAM  left  about  ESP  9  000  million  of  Structural  Fund
money unused in the three-year period 1994-1996? If so, what is its view of a situation that is likely to result
in a significant loss of opportunity for those who benefit from application of the Funds?