RESOLUTION A3-0193/92

Resolution on EC-Turkey relations

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Association Agreement between the European Community and Turkey,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 September 1988 on the renewed association between the European Community and Turkey and its resolution of 17 March 1989 on economic and trade relations between the Community and Turkey,

- having regard to Turkey's application to join the European Community (14 April 1987),

- having regard to its resolution of 18 June 1987 on a political solution to the Armenian question,

- having regard to the Commission's opinion on the membership application,

- having regard to the Commission's proposals on relations with Turkey ('Matutes package') - June 1990,

- having regard to its resolution of 11 July 1990 on the violation of human rights in Cyprus, in which it:

(a) condemned the flagrant violation of human rights in Cyprus,

(b) welcomed the European Council Declaration made in Dublin on 27 June 1990 stating that the Cyprus problem affected relations between the Community and Turkey, and

(c) called for the Community Institutions to adapt their policies accordingly,

- having regard to the Commission's communication to the Council, 'Towards a revamped Mediterranean policy',

- having regard to its resolution of 12 July 1991 on a revamped Mediterranean policy,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 May 1991 on Community enlargement and relations with other European countries,

- having regard to its resolution of 17 May 1991 on the role of Europe in relation to security in the Mediterranean,

- having regard to the EC-Turkey cooperation agreement in the medical and health sector,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, the Committee on External Economic Relations, the Committee on Social Affairs, Employment and the Working Environment, and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A3-193/92),

A. whereas the operation of the various bodies set up under the 1963 Association Agreement was only recently normalized at the Association Council meeting of 30 September 1991,

B. having regard to trade and economic relations with the European Community, which are particularly vital for Turkey, and the broad national consensus in Turkey on the country's links with Europe, as evidenced by the 1987 membership application,

C. whereas Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe, a signatory to the Paris Charter of the CSCE, has just concluded an agreement with EFTA and is a member of NATO: whereas, therefore, Turkey is a signatory to several international pacts with which it must comply,

D. having regard to the significant role which Turkey has always played and will inevitably have to play in settling the problems of the Near and Middle East, Asia Minor and the Caucasus owing to its position in Europe and in Asia, its interest in securing and consolidating peace in these regions and its determination to do so,

E. whereas it is important that Turkey should remain an element of stability in a region marked by grave political and ethnic problems and welcoming the Turkish Government's positive attitude in the conflict between Azeris and Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh,

F. whereas it is in the interests of the European Community and of the United Nations that a balance be maintained between the regional powers in the Near and Middle East, as well as in the Caucasus and Central Asia,

1. Considers that there is an urgent need to study and improve relations with Turkey;

ON TURKEY'S APPLICATION FOR EC MEMBERSHIP

2. Stresses that the Community has embarked on a new stage of integration with the imminent completion of the internal market and the establishment of an economic, monetary and political union as decided by the European Council at Maastricht on 8 and 9 December 1991 and set out in the Treaty signed on 7 February 1992 by the Heads of State and Government;

3. Stresses that the rights and obligations attaching to a country's status as a Member State will henceforth be more considerable;

4. Notes that the fundamental issue of the Community's future must be seen in the much broader context of the new European order;

5. Draws attention, in this connection, to the various types of organization already in existence such as the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the imminent establishment of a European Economic Area, and the Council of Europe;

6. Points out that Turkey's application for membership must be placed in the wider context of general deliberations on the Community;

7. Concurs, as regards Turkey's membership application, with the conclusions of the Commission's report and points out - without casting doubt on Turkey's eligibility to join the Community at some time in the future - that the membership issue is not the subject of this Resolution;

8. Notes that Turkey does not at present fulfil the conditions necessary for membership, particularly those of a political nature, but acknowledges Turkey's determination to become progressively more integrated into European structures;

9. Stresses, however, Turkey's importance as an economic, trading and political partner, and takes into consideration its cultural and religious diversity, which heightens the significance of its role as a bridge between Europe and Asia;

THE POLITICAL AND DEMOCRATIC SITUATION IN TURKEY

10. Notes that the general election of 20 October 1991, which testified to the multiparty nature and political maturity of the Turkish regime, marked the beginning of a new era in the country's political history, under an electoral law which continues to restrict the right of political expression;

11. Welcomes the Coalition Protocol between the True Path Party (DYP) and the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) and their programme of government, which are intended as guarantees of the process of democratization to be implemented in the spirit of the Paris Charter and calls on the government to implement the announced reforms and acknowledge the Kurdish situation;

12. Notes the coalition government's desire to complete the review of the 1982 Constitution, which is at present preventing the establishment of a constitutional democracy;

13. Notes the adoption by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 21 May 1992 of the law amending the provisions of the Code of Penal Procedure, the law on the establishment and procedures of the State security courts, the law on the powers and functions of the police and the anti-terrorism law;

14. Calls for the promotion and broadening of legislative measures, in line with the declared intention of the present Turkish Government to guarantee freedom of expression and association, reviewing penal law, detention procedures and the right to a legal defence, taking steps to abolish torture, abrogating certain provisions of the anti-terror law (of which Article 1 in particular poses a serious threat to democracy) and the law on police powers and responsibilities, and hopes that these draft laws will be quickly adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly;

15. Welcomes the closure of Eskisehir prison, but deplores the continuing use of torture and detention of political prisoners, a general amnesty for whom, as called for by the human rights organizations, could create a climate of reconciliation between the state and its citizens;

16. Appeals to the Turkish military and security forces, which still play a significant role in the country's political life, not to undermine the efforts of the coalition government, and to guarantee the right to life and put an immediate stop to the use of torture;

17. Calls on Turkey to sign, ratify and abide by a number of international conventions, particularly the ILO Convention on the Protection of Workers' Rights (trade union rights), to ratify the conventions on children's rights and the equality of women, and to abolish capital punishment; welcomes the Turkish Government's declaration of 5 May 1992 in which it lifted its reservations to Articles 6, 8, 10, 11 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights;

18. Condemns the acts of terrorism, particularly those of the PKK, Dev-Sol and Hezbollah, perpetrated against innocent civilians;

19. Acknowledges that the Turkish Government has a perfect right to combat terrorism provided that human rights are fully observed and the exercise of this right does not spark off a cycle of violence; points out in this connection that the Community has condemned the Turkish air force raids on Kurds in Iraq and the level of the Turkish military response against the population of Kurdish areas in Turkey which has resulted in death and injury to many innocent citizens;

20. Calls on the Turkish Government to lift the state of emergency in the South East of the country forthwith and to enter into a dialogue with the Kurdish people, with a view to a peaceful solution which will safeguard the rights of the Kurds, in the knowledge that any solution based on repression is doomed to failure from the outset;

21. Encourages the government's planned campaign to educate the police and armed forces in human rights,

22. Favours granting Community financial assistance to associations for the promotion and defence of human rights in Turkey in order to encourage their activities, particularly those of the rehabilitation centres for torture victims;

23. Notes that no previous Turkish Government has paid proper attention to the Kurdish problem and that, on the contrary, acts of repression have been committed by successive governments against the Kurdish people;

24. Is convinced that this situation has been one of the causes of the terrorism perpetrated by the PKK, a terrorist organization which it has always condemned and whose actions will only genuinely serve the interests of the Kurdish population when they become non-violent

25. Notes that the new government intends to respect the cultural identity of the Kurdish people as part of the process of establishing democracy and national unity;

26. Considers that these specific rights should include the right to speak, write and publish in Kurdish, use Kurdish in courts of law and receive instruction in Kurdish and that this should be accompanied by a programme of economic measures that would really benefit the Kurds by promoting greater economic and social development in the South-East region, which, as a result of the problems confronting it (such as unemployment and illiteracy), provides particularly fertile ground for the development of terrorist activities;

27. Wishes to see a situation in which all minorities in Turkey, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne, are able to express their cultural identity without fear of repression or discrimination, and supports similar legitimate claims by Turkish minorities throughout the world;

28. Calls for archaeological excavations to be carried out in advance, should new dams be constructed in South-East Anatolia, so as to preserve the traces of the cultures and civilizations which followed each other over the centuries on the Anatolian Plain; calls on the Member States of the European Community to bring this issue before the Council of Europe and UNESCO;

29. Recalls its resolutions concerning, in particular, the Armenian question;

30. Calls for the right of all citizens to profess and practise in public their religious convictions to be recognized and safeguarded by law;

31. Highlights the oecumenical nature and pan-orthodox mission of the Patriarchate in Istanbul as the leading institution of Orthodoxy and hopes that measures can be taken in future to avoid actions which may undermine its dignity and authority;

ON THE STATE OF THE ASSOCIATION

32. Notes that since the resumption of association relations in 1989, as it recommended its above-mentioned resolutions of 15 September 1988 and 17 March 1989 - these relations having been broken off after the military coup d'état of 12 September 1980 - one of the association bodies (the Joint Parliamentary Committee) has been able to resume normal operation on the basis of three meetings per year, and is delighted that dialogue has thus been preserved between Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the European Parliament;

33. Welcomes the Association Council meeting of 30 September 1991 - the first since the failed meeting of 26 April 1988 in Luxembourg - and hopes that this body will henceforth work constructively and find a way of resolving the existing economic, commercial and political difficulties between the two partners which were the subject of an Association Committee meeting on 6 December 1991;

34. Notes that statistics show a substantial increase in trade, with, however, a considerable deficit on the Turkish side, and recalls that the European Community has made a significant effort to increase the export quotas of Turkish textiles to the European Community;

35. Welcomes the recent signing of the cooperation agreement between the EC and Turkey in the medical and health field, the agreement on vocational training projects in the tourism and mining sectors and numerous other sectoral agreements;

ON THE RENEWAL OF THE ASSOCIATION

36. Is convinced that the renewal of the association is in both partners' interests;

37. Recalls that the problem of the Republic of Cyprus - one of the unresolved political conditions of accession - affects relations between the Community and Turkey and recalls the Community's unwavering stance - expressed at various European Council meetings, particularly the Dublin Council of April 1990, and in Parliament's resolutions - in favour of restoring the unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and the withdrawal of the Turkish occupying army in accordance with United Nations resolutions;

38. Refers to the Council declaration of 24 June 1975:

'It is in the Community's interests to maintain and develop close association relations with Turkey and Greece's application for EC membership must not affect EC-Turkey relations or rights based on the agreement concluded between the EC and Turkey';

and the declaration of 26 June 1990:

'The European Council discussed the Cyprus question in the light of the impasse in the intercommunal dialogue.

The European Council, deeply concerned at the situation, fully reaffirms its previous declarations and its support for the unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions. Reiterating that the Cyprus problem affects EC-Turkey relations and bearing in mind the importance of these relations, it stresses the need for the prompt elimination of the obstacles that are preventing the pursuit of effective intercommunal talks aimed at finding a just and viable solution to the question of Cyprus on the basis of the mission of good offices of the UN Secretary-General, as it was recently reaffirmed by Resolution 649/90 of the Security Council';

39. Notes the joint declaration issued in Davos in February 1992 by the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey concerning a treaty of friendship between the two countries, and their encouragement of the efforts by the UN Secretary-General to convene an international summit with the aim of restoring Cypriot unity;

40. Is convinced that the democratization of Turkey is directly linked to a solution to the Cyprus problem;

41. Recalls that the Commission's opinion on Turkey's application for EC membership was accompanied by a draft proposal, known as the 'Matutes package' (June 1990), the aim of which was to promote the renewal and further development of the association and to support cooperation in general and the stepping up of political dialogue;

42. Recalls the philosophy of the Community's revamped Mediterranean policy, which provides for an increase in aid to its Mediterranean partners, while respecting the development aims and priorities which they have set for themselves and taking into consideration the specific problems of each;

43. Recalls its resolution of 12 July 1991 on the revamped Mediterranean policy, and in particular paragraphs 1, 2 and 11;

44. Notes that all the northern and southern Mediterranean countries are currently receiving financial aid from the Community whether they are linked to the Community by association agreements (as is the case with Cyprus and Malta) or by cooperation agreements (as is the case with Syria and Algeria);

45. Hopes that the problems which prevent Turkey from being treated on an equal footing with the above partners of the EC will be resolved as soon as possible;

46. Urges the Council to take the same stance on Turkey as on the Mediterranean countries, provided the announced reforms and democratization have in fact been carried out and the Turkish occupying forces have withdrawn from the Republic of Cyprus as part of a fair and lasting solution to the Cypriot problem, in accordance with the UN resolutions;

47. Recommends, in the short term, the implementation of a number of specific measures to improve relations;

* In the economic and commercial field:

48. Hopes that the Turkish authorities will make efforts to resolve the problem of counterfeits, which have a far from insignificant impact on trade with the Community, put a stop to a number of dumping practices, fulfil their obligations under the Treaty of Ankara, particularly as regards Community agricultural exports to Turkey and honour their undertakings to dismantle customs duties and abolish charges having equivalent effect;

49. Proposes, moreover, that joint ventures between Community and Turkish undertakings be encouraged and, to this end, supports the organization in the near future of a number of EC-Turkey trade weeks;

50. Hopes that Turkey will take the necessary measures to create a climate favourable to investments by Community undertakings;

* In the field of culture, information and the environment:

51. Hopes that Turkish students and civil servants will be able to take advantage of scholarships offering the opportunity to learn about the European Community (Robert Schuman scholarships or the European Community visitors' programme) and welcomes the Commission's recent proposals to this effect;

52. Believes that Turkey should be able to take advantage of the Erasmus programme as regards student mobility and increased cooperation between universities, which would make a positive contribution to the mutual understanding of each other's culture, religion and mentality;

53. Believes that, in view of the huge size of the country, the opening in Istanbul and Diyarbakir of two branches of the European Community's delegation (currently based in Ankara) would provide an important staging-post for information and cooperation with the European Community;

54. Believes that Turkey must sign and ratify international agreements on the environment to which the Community is already a party, such as the 1979 Convention on migratory species of wild animals and the 1974 Convention on the prevention of marine pollution from land-based sources;

55. Considers that discussions between the European Parliament and Turkey should deal, inter alia, with major projects and their impact on the environment;

* Freedom of movement for workers:

56. Calls on the Commission and the Council to re-examine the question of freedom of movement for workers in the new economic situation in the Community and Turkey and to arrange for Turkish workers already resident in the Community and/or working in Turkey to enjoy freedom of movement pursuant to Article 48 of the EEC Treaty;

* Political dialogue:

57. Places particular emphasis on the value and importance of political dialogue between the European Community and Turkey; gives every encouragement to relations between the corresponding parliamentary committees, exchanges of information between the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and further work in the joint parliamentary committee;

58. Calls on the Association Council also to debate political issues of mutual interest to the two parties, such as, at the moment, issues concerning Iraq, the situation in the Near and Middle East, the problems in the Caucasus and security in the Mediterranean region, and the Cyprus problem, without the latter issue encroaching on the powers and responsibilities of the United Nations; supports, in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, observer status for Turkey in the Western European Union;

59. Notes the creation, on 3 February 1992 in Istanbul, of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council uniting, under the aegis of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine; hopes that this cooperation forum will promote stability in the region and foster the development of relations between the states signatory to the agreement on an equal footing;

60. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, European Political Cooperation and the Turkish Government and Grand National Assembly.