I. Ermeni Sorunun Tarihsel Boyutu
5.
Uluslararası Kuruluşlar Kararları
Avrupa Parlamentosu
Kararı - Ekim 28, 2005
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"5. Calls on Turkey to recognise the Armenian genocide; considers this
recognition to be a prerequisite for accession to the European Union;"
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Texts adopted by Parliament
Wednesday 28 September 2005 - Strasbourg
Opening of negotiations with Turkey
Provisional edition
P6_TA-PROV(2005)0350
B6-0484, 0487, 0496, 0498, 0502 and 0505/2005
European Parliament resolution on the opening of negotiations with Turkey
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2004 on the 2004 regular
report and the recommendation of the Commission on Turkey's progress towards
accession(1) and its previous resolutions on this subject adopted between 18
June 1987 and 15 December 2004,
– having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2005 on the role of women in
Turkey in social, economic and political life(2),
– having regard to the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 17
December 2004,
– having regard to the draft framework for the accession negotiations with
Turkey, as presented by the Commission on 29 June 2005,
– having regard to the decisions taken by the European Council on the start
of the accession negotiations with Turkey,
– having regard to its resolution of 21 April 2004 on Cyprus(3),
– having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Commission has concluded that Turkey has sufficiently
fulfilled the Copenhagen political criteria and has recommended that
accession negotiations be opened,
B. whereas the European Council decided in 2002 that if Turkey fulfilled the
Copenhagen political criteria the European Union would open accession
negotiations without delay,
C. whereas the European Parliament considered on 15 December 2004 that the
opening of accession negotiations is to be recommended so long as it is
agreed that in the first phase of the negotiations priority is given to the
full implementation of the political criteria; that therefore the agenda of
negotiations at ministerial level will start with the assessment of the
fulfilment of the political criteria, especially in the area of human rights
and full fundamental freedoms in both theory and practice, in the meantime
opening up the opportunity to put other chapters on the agenda of the
negotiations,
D. whereas on that occasion the European Parliament, whilst respecting the
democratic will of the Greek Cypriot community, expressed its regret that it
had not been able to reach a solution, and called on the Turkish authorities
to maintain their constructive attitude in finding a settlement of the
Cyprus question leading to an equitable solution, to be negotiated on the
basis of the Annan plan and the principles upon which the EU is founded, and
to effect an early withdrawal, pursuant to the relevant UN resolutions, of
their forces in accordance with a specific timetable; whereas it expressed
its belief that such a withdrawal of Turkish forces is a necessary step
forward on the way to further easing tension, resuming dialogue between the
parties and preparing for a lasting solution; whereas it called on the
Turkish authorities to recognise the Republic of Cyprus; whereas it drew the
attention of the Turkish authorities to the fact that the negotiations
concerned are intergovernmental negotiations between Turkey on the one hand
and the 25 Member States of the EU on the other, the Republic of Cyprus
being one of those Member States; whereas it noted that the opening of
negotiations obviously implies the recognition of Cyprus by Turkey,
E. whereas the European Parliament also invited the Turkish authorities to
abolish all existing restrictions applying to ships flying the Cypriot flag
and involved in trade relating to a Member State of the EU,
F. whereas the European Council concluded on 17 December 2004 that Turkey
fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria sufficiently well to start the accession
negotiations on 3 October 2005, provided that it brought into force six
outstanding pieces of legislation and that it signed, in accordance with its
own commitment, the protocol extending the Ankara Agreement to the ten new
Member States, and whereas the European Union must abide by previous
commitments,
G. whereas on 1 June 2005 Turkey brought into force the six outstanding
pieces of legislation it was required to do,
H. whereas on 29 July 2005 Turkey signed the Protocol extending the Ankara
Agreement to the ten new Member States but at the same time, along with the
Protocol, released a statement saying that the signing, ratification and
implementation of this protocol did not amount to any form of recognition of
the Republic of Cyprus referred to in the Protocol,
I. whereas at the same time Turkey is continuing the embargo on vessels
flying the Cypriot flag as well as vessels approaching from harbours in the
Republic of Cyprus, denying them access to Turkish ports, and on Cypriot
airplanes, denying them overflight rights and landing rights at Turkish
airports,
J. whereas the Turkish authorities have also still not complied with demands
regarding Armenian issues, as expressed by the European Parliament in its
resolution of 18 June 1987(4),
K. whereas a democratic and economically stable Turkey would substantially
benefit the whole of Europe,
L. whereas only by demonstrating readiness to embrace EU values through
determined implementation and continued reform will Turkey be able to ensure
the irreversibility of the process of reform and to gather the necessary
support amongst the body of EU public opinion,
M. whereas the European Union's capacity to cope with enlargement is
considered a prerequisite, as part of the Copenhagen criteria, and whereas,
therefore, the European Union, for its part, must demonstrate that it is
capable of political and institutional reform,
1. Notes that the Commission and the Council take the view that Turkey has
formally fulfilled the last conditions for starting the accession
negotiations on 3 October 2005, namely the bringing into force of the six
outstanding pieces of legislation and the signing, in accordance with its
own undertaking, of the protocol extending the Ankara Agreement to the ten
new Member States; is of the opinion that, on these and other points, the
implementation still has to be fulfilled;
2. Sincerely deplores the fact that Turkey has cast serious doubt on its
willingness fully to implement all provisions of the Protocol by releasing
at the same time, together with the Protocol, a statement saying that the
signing, ratification and implementation of that Protocol does not amount to
any form of recognition of the Republic of Cyprus referred to in the
Protocol; reminds the Commission to provide Parliament with an answer from
the Turkish Government as to whether the unilateral declaration is part of
the ratification process in the Turkish Parliament;
3. Stresses that this unilateral declaration by Turkey does not form part of
the Protocol and has no legal effect on Turkey's obligations under the
Protocol, and should not be sent to the Grand National Assembly for
ratification;
4. Reminds Turkey that by maintaining restrictions against vessels flying
the Cypriot flag and vessels approaching from harbours in the Republic of
Cyprus, in the form of denial of access to Turkish ports, and against
Cypriot aircraft, by denying them overflight rights and landing rights at
Turkish airports, Turkey is in breach of the Ankara Agreement and the
related Customs Union irrespective of the Protocol, as this practice
infringes the principle of the free movement of goods; calls, therefore, on
Turkey fully to implement all the provisions of the Protocol;
5. Calls on Turkey to recognise the Armenian genocide; considers this
recognition to be a prerequisite for accession to the European Union;
6. Calls on the Commission to make, by the end of 2006, a full assessment of
the implementation of the extended Ankara Agreement, and stresses that
failure in the implementation of this agreement will have serious
implications for the negotiation process and could even lead to a halting of
the negotiation process; demands, therefore, that the implementation of the
Customs Union be amongst the first chapters to be dealt with in the
accession negotiations in 2006;
7. Expresses once again, whilst respecting the democratic will of the Greek
Cypriot community, its regret that it has not been able to reach a solution,
and calls on the Turkish authorities to maintain their constructive attitude
in finding a settlement of the Cyprus question leading to an equitable
solution, to be negotiated on the basis of the Annan plan and the principles
upon which the EU is founded, and to effect an early withdrawal, pursuant to
the relevant UN resolutions, of their forces in accordance with a specific
timetable; believes that such a withdrawal of Turkish forces is a necessary
step forward on the way to further easing tension, resuming dialogue between
the parties and preparing for a lasting solution; calls once again on all
parties in Cyprus to resume the UN-led talks on a comprehensive settlement
to the conflict;
8. Emphasises that a rapid normalisation of relations between Turkey and all
EU Member States, including Turkey's recognition of the Republic of Cyprus,
is a necessary component of the accession process; stresses that Turkey's
recognition of the Republic of Cyprus can in no way be the subject of the
negotiations; calls on the Turkish authorities to normalise relations
between Turkey and all EU Member States and recognise the Republic of Cyprus
as soon as possible, and stresses that failure to do so will have serious
implications for the negotiation process and could even lead to a halting of
the negotiation process;
9. Calls on the Council also to deliver on promises and to put an end to the
isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community; calls on the Council, under the
current UK Presidency, to make renewed efforts to reach agreement on the
financial aid package and on trade facilitation regulations concerning the
northern part of Cyprus in order that the EU honour its own commitments with
respect to the Turkish Cypriot community; 10. Welcomes the adoption and
entry into force on 1 June 2005 of six important pieces of legislation, a
step which was established by the European Council in December 2004 as a
condition for the opening of the negotiations; notes that concerns remain
about certain elements of the laws adopted; is in particular concerned about
the complaints made by the public prosecutor against Orhan Pamuk which are
in breach of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, and calls on the Turkish Government to guarantee
freedom of opinion and to further reform the penal code with regard, in
particular, to Article 301/1 thereof; also expresses its concern about
Article 305 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalises 'acts against the
fundamental national interest', and a regulation implementing the law on
associations, which retains a number of restrictions, including a priori
authorisation of foreign funding; notes that serious concerns also remain
regarding the insufficient legal proposals regarding the functioning of
religious communities (Law on Foundations);
11. Insists that the negotiating framework should reflect the political
priorities referred to by the European Parliament in its various resolutions
calling on Turkey to satisfy fully the following political criteria:
stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human
rights and respect for, and protection of, minorities; asks therefore for
each session of the negotiations at ministerial level to be preceded by an
assessment of the political criteria in both theory and practice, thus
exerting permanent pressure on the Turkish authorities to maintain the pace
of the necessary reforms; considers, furthermore, that a full programme of
clear targets, timeframes and deadlines should be fixed for the fulfilment
of political criteria;
12. Calls on the Council to respect fully all elements of the framework for
negotiations as laid down in the conclusions of the meeting of the European
Council of 17 December 2004; emphasises in particular in this framework that
the shared objective of the negotiations is accession, that these
negotiations are an open-ended process, the outcome of which cannot be
guaranteed in advance, and that, while taking account of all Copenhagen
criteria, if the candidate State is not in a position to assume in full all
the obligations of membership, it must be ensured that the candidate State
concerned is fully anchored in the European structures through the strongest
possible bond;
13. Calls on the Council and the Commission in this context to report
annually to the European Parliament and the national parliaments of the EU
Member States on the progress made by Turkey in fulfilling the political
criteria, and to include in this report all verified cases of torture
reported in that year and the number of Turkish asylum seekers accepted by
the EU Member States during that year;
14. Urges the Commission, once the negotiations on the various chapters have
started, to recommend, in the event of a serious and persistent breach of
the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, the rights of minorities and the rule of law, and
after consultation of the European Parliament, the suspension of
negotiations, in line with the Treaty on European Union;
15. Notes that the budgetary impact of Turkey's accession to the EU can only
be fully assessed once the parameters for the financial negotiations with
Turkey have been defined in the context of the financial perspective from
2014 onwards; 16. Stresses that the Commission's recommendation to negotiate
long transition periods, specific arrangements in areas such as structural
policies and agriculture and permanent safeguards for the free movement of
workers in the accession agreement should not have a negative impact on
Turkey's efforts to align with the acquis;
17. Stresses that the opening of negotiations will be the starting point for
a long-lasting process, which by its very nature is an open-ended process
and does not lead 'a priori' and automatically to accession; emphasises,
however, that the objective of the negotiations is Turkish EU membership,
but that the realisation of this ambition will depend on the efforts of both
sides; accession is thus not the automatic consequence of the start of the
negotiations;
18. Emphasises that the Nice Treaty is not an acceptable basis for further
decisions on the accession of any further new Member States and therefore
insists that the necessary reforms be brought into force within the
framework of the constitutional process;
19. Recalls that, in accordance with the conclusions of the Copenhagen
European Council in 1993, the Union's capacity to absorb Turkey while
maintaining the momentum of European integration is an important
consideration in the general interest of both the Union and Turkey; supports
the Commission in monitoring during the negotiations the Union's capacity to
absorb Turkey, and therefore reminds the Commission of its demand, included
in the last European Parliament resolution on Turkey's progress towards
accession, adopted on 15 December 2004, to receive the follow-up to the
impact study in 2005, which would provide useful information about this
important aspect of the question;
20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the
Commission, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the President of
the European Court of Human Rights and the Government and Parliament of
Turkey.
(1) OJ C 226 E, 15.9.2005, p. 189.
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0287.
(3) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 720.
(4) OJ C 190, 20.7.1987, p. 119.
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