12.1.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 15/95 Wednesday 19 May 2021
pandemic; condemns the instrumentalisation of the justice system, unlawful detentions, harassment and baseless criminal investigations of journalists who have reported concerns about Turkey’s management of the pandemic; notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly increased unemployment and poverty rates in Turkey;
64.
Stresses that a modernisation of the customs union would be beneficial for both parties and would keep Turkey economically and normatively anchored to the EU, in addition to creating a renewed opportunity for positive dialogue and cooperation, providing a better regulatory framework for EU investment in Turkey, including a dispute resolution mechanism, and being a catalyst for the creation of more employment in both the EU and Turkey and for projects on European Green Deal cooperation; highlights that, under the current circumstances — including the growing list of Turkey’s deviations from its currents obligations, the fact that the EU and Turkey are currently in a dispute before the World Trade Organization or unacceptable calls to boycott EU Member States — it appears that a modernisation of the customs union would be particularly difficult, but believes that a door should be left open to facilitate constructive efforts and renewed dialogue on all outstanding issues and explore the conditions for a modernisation of the customs union; reiterates that this modernisation would need to be based on strong conditionality related to human rights and fundamental freedoms as prescribed by the Copenhagen criteria on good neighbourly relations with the EU and all its Member States and on its non-discriminatory implementation; recalls, in this sense, that the current customs union will not achieve its full potential until Turkey fully implements the Additional Protocol to extend the Ankara Agreement towards all Member States without reserve and in a non-discriminatory fashion in relation to all Member States, and until all existing trade irritants are resolved;
65.
Continues its support for the visa liberalisation process once the set conditions have been met; points out that visa liberalisation would constitute an important step towards facilitating people-to-people contacts and notes that it is of great importance, particularly for students, academics, business representatives and people with family ties in EU Member States; welcomes the presidential circular of May 2019 calling for the acceleration of demarches, but stresses that there has been very little real progress on the six outstanding benchmarks still to be fulfilled by Turkey; asks the Government of Turkey to fully comply with these benchmarks in a non-discriminatory manner, including with regard to all EU Member States, and to focus in particular on the Anti-Terror Law and Data Protection Law;
66.
Notes the importance for Turkey, the EU and its Member States of maintaining close dialogue and cooperation on foreign policy and security issues; acknowledges that, as is the right of any sovereign country, Turkey can pursue its own foreign policy in line with its interests and goals; believes that, as a candidate country for accession to the EU, however, Turkey should aim to increasingly align its foreign policy with that of the EU under the common foreign and security policy (CFSP); deeply regrets that, to the contrary, Turkey has decided to recurrently act unilaterally and to consistently collide with the EU’s priorities in a wide range of foreign affairs matters, and that, as a result, the rate of Turkey’s alignment with the CFSP is at present reduced to only 14 %; encourages Turkey to pursue close cooperation and further alignment with the EU on foreign policy, defence and security issues, including counter-terrorism cooperation; recalls that Turkey is a long-standing member of the NATO alliance and is in a key geostrategic location for maintaining regional security and reinforcing European security; stresses that, as a NATO ally, Turkey should be encouraged to act in line with the NATO Treaty, which states that members should refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations; notes, further, that EU Member States and Turkey continue to cooperate on issues of (military) strategic importance within the NATO framework; recalls further that the EU and NATO remain the most reliable long-term partners for Turkey in international security cooperation and calls on Turkey to maintain political coherence in the fields of foreign and security policies in view of its role as member of NATO and EU candidate country and to recommit fully to NATO as its sole security anchor; calls for a transatlantic dialogue on relations with Turkey with the new US administration with a view to adopting a joint policy towards and with Turkey, aimed at enhancing our cooperation and convergence in values and interests;
67.
Stresses that, whatever claims Turkey can have, these should be defended through diplomacy and dialogue based on international law and that any attempt to pressure other countries through the use of force, threats or hostile and insulting rhetoric, particularly towards the EU and its Member States, are unacceptable and unseemly for an EU candidate country; calls, in this regard, on the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to take a firm stance on any abusive language against the EU and its Member States expressed by representatives of the Turkish Government;