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EurActive, Belgium
Dec 15 2004
UE - Turquie : le Parlement favorable à l'ouverture des négociations
d'adhésion
In Short:
Le Parlement européen a a voté une motion (non-contraignante)
appelant à l'ouverture de négociations d'adhésion entre la Turquie et
l'UE. Le vote était secret, ce qui a provoqué le mécontentement de
plusieurs députés.
In a historic vote, 407 out of the total of 732 MEPs said 'yes' on 15
December to Turkey's projected entry into the EU, with 262 MEPs
voting against and 29 abstaining.
The vote is not binding on the leaders of the member states, who are
scheduled to decide at their summit on 16-17 December when and under
what conditions to open accession negotiations with Ankara.
Under the resolution, the EU should launch accession talks "without
undue delay", despite the fact that problems continue to exist in
Turkey with regard to minority rights, religious freedoms, trade
union rights, women's rights, Cyprus and the country's relations with
Armenia. According to the MEPs, the first phase of the negotiations
should focus on the full implementation of the relevant political
criteria, and in case of serious breaches the talks should be
suspended.
The resolution underlined that the opening of the negotiations will
not automatically lead to Turkey's accession, and stated that
membership for Turkey is conceivable only upon the approval of the
EU's long-term budget for the period after 2014.
The resolution was passed in a secret ballot, as prescribed in Rule
162 of the EP's Rules of Procedure. The move created a pre-vote
dispute, with the Socialists and the ALDE Group both condemning what
they considered the European Christian Democrats' "tricky
parliamentarian games". The Socialists' leader, MEP Martin Schulz,
said that "at a moment like this, it is shameful to have a secret
vote", while the ALDE Group's leader, MEP Graham Watson, declared
that "we reject the coward's option".
Meanwhile, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated
his stance that "Turkey will not hesitate to say 'no' to the EU if
unacceptable conditions are put forward". Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul told the Turkish daily Milliyet that his country was not
prepared to budge on keeping full membership as the ultimate aim, and
that the decision to open negotiations should not allow for
subsequent decisions or any permanent special conditions by the EU.
Furthermore, he said that Turkey must not be forced to recognise the
Republic of Cyprus.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who will host the EU
summit, said that "on the basis of the contacts that I've had, a
'yes' seems likely to come [from the summit], but we need a unanimous
decision". The draft final statement of the summit describes the
negotiations as an "open-ended process whose outcome cannot be
guaranteed beforehand".
Dec 15 2004
UE - Turquie : le Parlement favorable à l'ouverture des négociations
d'adhésion
In Short:
Le Parlement européen a a voté une motion (non-contraignante)
appelant à l'ouverture de négociations d'adhésion entre la Turquie et
l'UE. Le vote était secret, ce qui a provoqué le mécontentement de
plusieurs députés.
In a historic vote, 407 out of the total of 732 MEPs said 'yes' on 15
December to Turkey's projected entry into the EU, with 262 MEPs
voting against and 29 abstaining.
The vote is not binding on the leaders of the member states, who are
scheduled to decide at their summit on 16-17 December when and under
what conditions to open accession negotiations with Ankara.
Under the resolution, the EU should launch accession talks "without
undue delay", despite the fact that problems continue to exist in
Turkey with regard to minority rights, religious freedoms, trade
union rights, women's rights, Cyprus and the country's relations with
Armenia. According to the MEPs, the first phase of the negotiations
should focus on the full implementation of the relevant political
criteria, and in case of serious breaches the talks should be
suspended.
The resolution underlined that the opening of the negotiations will
not automatically lead to Turkey's accession, and stated that
membership for Turkey is conceivable only upon the approval of the
EU's long-term budget for the period after 2014.
The resolution was passed in a secret ballot, as prescribed in Rule
162 of the EP's Rules of Procedure. The move created a pre-vote
dispute, with the Socialists and the ALDE Group both condemning what
they considered the European Christian Democrats' "tricky
parliamentarian games". The Socialists' leader, MEP Martin Schulz,
said that "at a moment like this, it is shameful to have a secret
vote", while the ALDE Group's leader, MEP Graham Watson, declared
that "we reject the coward's option".
Meanwhile, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated
his stance that "Turkey will not hesitate to say 'no' to the EU if
unacceptable conditions are put forward". Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul told the Turkish daily Milliyet that his country was not
prepared to budge on keeping full membership as the ultimate aim, and
that the decision to open negotiations should not allow for
subsequent decisions or any permanent special conditions by the EU.
Furthermore, he said that Turkey must not be forced to recognise the
Republic of Cyprus.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who will host the EU
summit, said that "on the basis of the contacts that I've had, a
'yes' seems likely to come [from the summit], but we need a unanimous
decision". The draft final statement of the summit describes the
negotiations as an "open-ended process whose outcome cannot be
guaranteed beforehand".