MEPS DEFY TURKEY ON EVE OF ENTRY TALKS

EUobserver.com, Belgium
Sept 28 2005

28.09.2005 – 17:44 CET | By Mark Beunderman EUOBSERVER/ BRUSSELS –
In a strong message of frustration with the Turkish stance on Cyprus,
the European Parliament on Wednesday postponed the ratification
of a key customs agreement with Ankara – dismaying the commission,
but not endangering the start of entry talks on 3 October.

Under EU law, the European Parliament has to formally ratify an
agreement on the extension of the customs agreement between the EU
and Turkey to all new member states – including Cyprus, which Ankara
does not recognise.

But the conservative EPP group in the parliament today (28 September)
successfully achieved suspension of ratification of the deal, with
311 against 285 MEPs voting to postpone the ratification.

EPP group leader Hans-Gert Pottering said ahead of the vote that there
had not been any “appropriate statement” by the Turkish government
on Ankara’s commitment to the customs agreement.

MEPs had demanded a public guarantee from Turkey that the Turkish
parliament, in its ratification process, would not at the same time
endorse Ankara’s unilateral declaration issued last June saying that
Turkey does not recognise Cyprus.

Formal ratification of the agreement by the European and Turkish
parliaments is no precondition for the opening of EU membership talks
with Turkey, scheduled for 3 October.

But the commission said today it regretted the Parliament’s decision.

Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn stated “Unfortunately today’s
decision does not strengthen our position in urging Turkey to stick
to its commitment, that is following the signature, to ratify and
implement the protocol without delay”.

The commission and member states are pressing Ankara to first ratify
and then fully implement the customs agreement, meaning that Ankara is
obliged to stop blocking Cypriot ships and planes from its territory.

But now the commission claims MEPs have complicated these efforts by
blocking ratification by the EU itself.

Socialist and liberal MEPs also regretted the postponement of the
ratification, with liberal MEP Andrew Duff describing the decision as
“stupid, short-sighted and mean-spirited”.

Resolution seeks tough human rights guarantees The Parliament in a
separate resolution backed the opening of membership negotiations
with Turkey on 3 October.

But the resolution, which is non-binding, further pressurises Ankara
by highlighting Turkish failures in meeting human rights standards.

The text explicitly mentions the case of Orhan Pamuk, a well-read
author who was recently charged by a Turkish prosecutor to have
“denigrated” the nation by publicly raising the issue of the Armenian
genocide in 1915.

MEPs urged the commission to suspend the accession talks once started,
in case of a persistent breach of human rights or the principles of
democracy and the rule of law.

The parliament called for further guarantees by demanding that each
session of the negotiations at ministerial level 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”.

Following an amendment by French MEPs, the parliament resolution also
calls on Turkey to recognise the genocide of Armenians by Ottoman
forces in 1915, considering this a “prerequisite for accession to
the European Union”.

The Euro-Armenian federation last week staged a high-profile conference
in the parliament, drawing attention to the issue.