Declaration of the European Parliament on the protection and preservation of the religious heritage in the northern part of Cyprus
Date: 2006-09-05
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Cyprus, Orthodoxy, Türkiye, architectural heritage, heritage protection, religious institution

C 305 E/92

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

14.12.2006

Tuesday 5 September 2006

P6_TA(2006)0335

The protection and preservation of the religious heritage in the northern part of
Cyprus

Declaration of the European Parliament on the protection and preservation of the religious heritage
in the northern part of Cyprus

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Article 151 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, according to Article 151 of the EC Treaty, the Community shall promote the cultural heritage

of its Member States while respecting their national and regional diversity,

B. whereas since 1974 the government of the Republic of Cyprus has been unable to exercise control over

the northern part of Cyprus and to ensure respect for the provisions of Article 151,

C. whereas more than 133 churches, chapels and monasteries that are located in the northern part of
Cyprus and have been controlled by the Turkish army since 1974 have been desecrated, 78 churches
have been converted into mosques, 28 are used as military depots and hospitals and 13 are used as
stockyards, and whereas their ecclesiastical items, including more than 15 000 icons, have been illegally
removed and their location remains unknown,

Condemns the pillage of Greek Orthodox churches and monasteries and the removal of their eccle-

1.
siastical items;

2.
Calls on the Commission and the Council to take the necessary actions to ensure respect for the
Treaty and the protection and restoration of the affected churches to their original Greek Orthodox status;

Calls on the Commission and the Council to examine this matter under the relevant chapters of the

3.
negotiations with Turkey;

Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the

4.
Commission and the Council.

Names of signatories

Adamou, Albertini, Allister, Alvaro, Andria, Andrikienė, Angelilli, Antoniozzi, Arnaoutakis, Ashworth,
Atkins, Audy, Auken, Ayala Sender, Aylward, Ayuso González, Bachelot-Narquin, Badía i Cutchet, Barón
Crespo, Barsi-Pataky, Battilocchio, Batzeli, Bauer, Beaupuy, Becsey, Beglitis, Belet, Belohorská, Beňová, Berend,
Berger, Berlato, Birutis, Blokland, Bobošíková, Böge, Bonde, Bonsignore, Borghezio, Bowis, Braghetto, Brejc,
Brepoels, Brunetta, van Buitenen, Bullmann, Busuttil, Buzek, Calabuig Rull, Camre, Carnero González, Car-
ollo, Casa, Casaca, CasiniCaspary, Castiglione, del Castillo Vera, Catania, Cavada, Cederschiöld, Chatzimarka-
kis, Chruszcz, Claeys, Cocilovo, Coelho, Corbett, Correia, Costa, Coûteaux, Coveney, Crowley, Czarnecki M.,
Daul, de Brún, Dehaene, Demetriou, De Michelis, Deprez, De Rossa, Descamps, Dess, De Veyrac, Díaz De
Mera García Consuegra, Didžiokas, Díez González, Dimitrakopoulos, Dobolyi, Dombrovskis, Doorn, Dover,
Doyle, Duka-Zólyomi, Ebner, Elles, Esteves, Estrela, Ettl, Eurlings, Fatuzzo, Ferber, Fernandes, Figueiredo,
Flasarová, Fontaine, Fourtou, Fraga Estévez, Freitas, Friedrich, Gahler, Gál, Gaľa, Galeote Quecedo, García
Pérez, Gargani, Garriga Polledo, Gaubert, Gauzès, Gawronski, Gentvilas, Geremek, Geringer de Oedenberg,
Gewalt, Gibault, Giertych, Gklavakis, Glattfelder, Goepel, Gollnisch, Gomes, Gomolka, Goudin, Grabowska,
Graça Moura, Grässle, de Grandes Pascual, Grech, Griesbeck, Grosch, Grossetête, Gruber, Guardans Cambó,
Guellec, Guerreiro, Guidoni, Gurmai, Gutiérrez-Cortines, Gyürk, Hammerstein Mintz, Handzlik, Harbour,
Harkin, Hatzidakis, Henin, Hennicot-Schoepges, Herranz García, Higgins, Hökmark, Hoppenstedt, Hudacký,
Hudghton, Hutchinson, Hybášková, Ilves, Itälä, Iturgaiz Angulo, Jäätteenmäki, Jałowiecki, Járóka, Jarzembow-
ski, Jeggle, Jordan Cizelj, Kaczmarek, Karas, Karatzaferis, Kasoulides, Kaufmann, Kauppi, Kelam, Klamt, Klass,
Klich, Klinz, Koch, Kohlíček, Konrad, Korhola, Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Krehl, Krupa, Kuc, Kułakowski, Kušķis,

14.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 305 E/93

Tuesday 5 September 2006

Kużmiuk, Lamassoure, Lambrinidis, Landsbergis, Langen, Laperrouze, La Russa, Lehideux, Lehne, Leinen, Le
Pen J.-M., Lewandowski, Liberadzki, Libicki, Liese, Liotard, López-Istúriz White, Losco, Louis, Ludford, Lul-
ling, Maat, McDonald, McGuinness, Maldeikis, Mann T., Manolakou, Mantovani, Markov, Marques, Martens,
Martinez, Martínez Martínez, Masiel, Masip Hidalgo, Maštálka, Matsakis, Matsis, Matsouka, Mauro, Mavrom-
matis, Mayer, Mayor Oreja, Medina Ortega, Méndez de Vigo, Meyer Pleite, Mikolášik, Millán Mon, Mitchell,
Montoro Romero, Moreno Sánchez, Mote, Musacchio, Muscardini, Muscat, Musotto, Mussolini, Musumeci,
Nassauer, Nattrass, Nicholson, Nicholson of Winterbourne, Niebler, van Nistelrooij, Novak, Obiols i Germà,
Occhetto, Olajos, Olbrycht, Ó Neachtain, Onesta, Onyszkiewicz, Oomen-Ruijten, Ortuondo Larrea, Őry,
Ouzký, Oviir, Pack, Pafilis, Paleckis, Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Papadimoulis, Papastamkos, Parish, Patri-
ciello, Peterle, Pieper, Pīks, Pinheiro, Piotrowski, Pirilli, Pirker, Pittella, Pleguezuelos Aguilar, Pleštinská,
Podestà, Podkański, Poettering, Pomés Ruiz, Portas, Posdorf, Posselt, Prets, Prodi, Protasiewicz, Purvis,
Queiró, Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Rack, Ransdorf, Remek, Reul, Ribeiro e Castro, Riera Madurell, Ries, Rivera,
Rogalski, Roithová, Romagnoli, Roszkowski, Rothe, Rouček, Rübig, Rutowicz, Ryan, Saïfi, Salafranca Sán-
chez-Neyra, Salinas García, Salvini, Samaras, Sánchez Presedo, Sartori, Saryusz-Wolski, Schierhuber, Schmitt,
Schöpflin, Schröder, Schwab, Seeber, Seeberg, Siekierski, Sifunakis, Silva Peneda, Sinnott, Sjöstedt, Sommer,
Sonik, Sornosa Martínez, Spautz, Staniszewska, Šťastný, Sterckx, Stevenson, Stubb, Sudre, Surján, Svensson,
Swoboda, Szájer, Szymański, Tajani, Tannock, Tarabella, Tarand, Tatarella, Thyssen, Toia, Tomczak, Toubon,
Toussas, Trakatellis, Triantaphyllides, Tzampazi, Uca, Ulmer, Vakalis, Vanhecke, Varela Suanzes-Carpegna,
Varvitsiotis, Vatanen, Veneto, Ventre, Vergnaud, Vernola, Vidal-Quadras Roca, de Villiers, Vincenzi, Vlasák,
Vlasto, Voggenhuber, Wagenknecht, Weber M., Weisgerber, von Wogau, Wojciechowski B., Wojciechowski J.,
Wortmann-Kool, Wurtz, Wynn, Xenogiannakopoulou, Yañez-Barnuevo García, Záborská, Zaleski, Zapa-
łowski, Zappala', Ždanoka, Zieleniec, Zimmer, Zvěřina, Zwiefka

P6_TA(2006)0336

International adoption in Romania

Declaration of the European Parliament on international adoption in Romania

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas respect for fundamental rights is one of the criteria for accession to the European Union,

B. whereas the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on the protection of children and cooperation in the
field of intercountry adoption, which has been ratified by Romania, provides for essential precautions in
the fight against trafficking in children and promotes the best interests of the child,

C. whereas in June 2001 the Romanian authorities imposed a moratorium on international adoption,

which was replaced on 1 January 2005 by a law on the protection of children,

D. whereas this moratorium was retroactive to 1 December 2000 and consequently abruptly interrupted

consideration of several thousands of applications for adoption,

E. whereas the children whom these applications concerned had already, over a long period, established
contacts with their future adoptive families, and whereas this moratorium has therefore placed them for
a second time in the situation of being abandoned,

F. whereas, in paragraph 23 of its resolution of 15 December 2005 on the extent of Romania's readiness
for accession to the European Union (1), Parliament urged the Romanian Government ‘to settle the cases
of applications for international adoption made during the moratorium of June 2001’,

G. whereas the Romanian government has to date not responded to this call,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0531.