pozdravlja napredek Turčije kot države kandidatke za izpolnitev københavnskih političnih meril; poziva turško vlado in vse parlamentarne stranke v Turčiji, naj dosežejo soglasje o pripravi in izvajanju bistvenih reform; pozdravlja, da je vlada odobrila strategijo za reformo sodstva, in poudarja, da je njeno hitro izvajanje nujno potrebno za delovanje turške države in družbe; je zaskrbljen zaradi razmer na področju svobode izražanja in svobode tiska, predvsem zaradi nezaslišane globe, izrečene medijski skupini; zadovoljen ugotavlja vse bolj odprto javno razpravo v Turčiji o prejšnjih tabujih; obžaluje omejen obseg napredka na področju svobode veroizpovedi in poziva vlado, naj vzpostavi pravni okvir v skladu z Evropsko konvencijo o varstvu človekovih pravicah in temeljnih svoboščin, ki bo vsem nemuslimanskim verskim skupnostim in skupnosti alevitov omogočil delovanje brez nepotrebnih ovir; obžaluje, da se še vedno ne izpolnjujejo zaveze iz dodatnega protokola k pridružitvenemu sporazumu med Evropsko skupnostjo in Turčijo, ter poziva Turčijo k polnemu in nediskriminacijskemu izvajanju tega sporazuma; poziva turško vlado in vse zadevne strani, naj dejavno prispevajo k hitri celoviti rešitvi ciprskega vprašanja, ki bo temeljila na resolucijah Varnostnega sveta Združenih narodov in na načelih, na katerih temelji EU; pozdravlja prizadevanja za razrešitev kurdskega vprašanja v okviru projekta demokratičnega odpiranja, spodbuja turško vlado, naj sprejme konkretne ukrepe za obravnavo položaja državljanov kurdskega porekla in poziva vse politične sile, naj podprejo ta proces; pozdravlja diplomatska prizadevanja za izboljšanje odnosov z Armenijo ter poziva turški in armenski parlament, naj ratificirata ustrezne protokole; pozdravlja, da je Turčija podpisala mednarodni sporazum o plinovodu Nabucco, saj je njegovo izvajanje še vedno ena od najpomembnejših prednostnih nalog EU na področju energetske varnosti, in poziva k odprtju energetskega poglavja v pristopnih pogajanjih; pozdravlja ponoven začetek pogajanj o sporazumu med EU in Turčijo o ponovnem sprejemu oseb ter poziva Turčijo, naj medtem v celoti izvaja veljavne dvostranske sporazume z državami članicami o ponovnem sprejemu; poziva turško vlado, naj okrepi usklajevanje zunanje politike z EU, zlasti glede Irana; vseeno obžaluje, da strateško sodelovanje med Natom in EU, ki presega sporazum Berlin plus, še naprej zadržujejo pomisleki Turčije, kar ima negativne posledice za varnost razmeščenega osebja EU, in poziva Turčijo, naj čim prej opusti te pomisleke;
Commends the progress that Turkey as a candidate country has made towards fulfilment of the Copenhagen political criteria; urges the Turkish Government and all parliamentary parties in Turkey to establish consensus on the formulation and implementation of key reforms; welcomes the government's approval of the judiciary reform strategy and points out the crucial importance of its swift implementation for the functioning of the Turkish State and society; is concerned about the situation in the area of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, particularly following the unprecedented fine imposed on a media group; notes with satisfaction the increasingly open public debate in Turkey about previous taboos; regrets the limited progress made in the area of freedom of religion, and urges the government to establish a legal framework in line with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms enabling all non-Muslim religious communities and the Alevi community to function without undue constraints; deplores the continued non-fulfilment of commitments stemming from the Additional Protocol to the EC-Turkey Association Agreement and urges Turkey to proceed to its full, non-discriminatory implementation; calls on the Turkish Government, as well as on all the parties concerned, to contribute actively to the swift devising of a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus question, based on UN Security Council resolutions and the principles on which the EU is founded; welcomes the efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue in the context of the "Democratic Opening" project; encourages the Turkish Government to take concrete measures to address the situation of citizens of Kurdish origin and asks all political forces to support this process; commends the diplomatic efforts made to normalise relations with Armenia and urges the Turkish Grand National Assembly, as well as the Parliament of Armenia, to ratify the relevant protocols; welcomes Turkey's signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Nabucco gas pipeline, the implementation of which remains one of the EU's highest energy security priorities, and calls for the opening of the energy chapter in the accession negotiations; takes note of the resumption of negotiations on a EU-Turkey readmission agreement, and urges Turkey to fully implement, in the meantime, the existing bilateral readmission agreements with the Member States; calls on the Turkish Government to intensify the foreign policy coordination with the EU, in particular regarding Iran; regrets, however, that the NATO-EU strategic cooperation extending beyond the "Berlin plus" arrangements continues to be blocked by Turkey's objections, which has negative consequences for the protection of the EU personnel deployed, and urges Turkey to set aside those objections as soon as possible;