52004IP0096(01)

P6_TA(2004)0096

Turkey's progress towards accession

European Parliament resolution on the 2004 regular report and the recommendation of the European Commission on Turkey's progress towards accession (COM(2004)0656 — C6-0148/2004 — 2004/2182(INI))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the 2004 regular report and the recommendation of the European Commission on Turkey's progress towards accession of 6 October 2004 (COM(2004)0656 — C6-0148/2004) [1],

- having regard to its resolution of 1 April 2004 on the 2003 regular report of the Commission on Turkey's progress towards accession [2] and its previous resolutions on this subject adopted between 18 June 1987 and 1 April 2004,

- having regard to the conclusions of the European Council (Copenhagen, 21 and 22 June 1993, Helsinki, 10 and 11 December 1999, Copenhagen, 12 and 13 December 2002, Thessaloniki, 19 and 20 June 2003, and Brussels, 12 and 13 December 2003),

- having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A6-0063/2004),

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 (EU) would open accession negotiations without delay,

C. whereas there has been substantial legislative and institutional convergence in Turkey towards European standards, in particular since the 2002 elections,

D. whereas the Commission has indicated that Turkey's accession would be different from previous enlargements because of the combined impact of Turkey's population, size, geographical location, economic, security and military potential,

E. whereas a democratic and economically stable Turkey would substantially benefit the whole of Europe,

F. having regard to the conclusions of the Helsinki and Copenhagen European Councils, which openly recognised Turkey's political desire to join the EU and explicitly accorded it the right to the status of a candidate for full membership,

G. whereas the Commission proposes a strategy for the accession process consisting of three pillars, respectively on cooperation to reinforce and support the reform process in Turkey, on the specific conditions for the conduct of accession negotiations within the framework of an Intergovernmental Conference requiring decision-making by unanimity (benchmarks for the opening and closure of chapters, the possibility of introducing long transition periods in respect of freedom of movement for workers, agriculture and the implementation of structural policies (the Cohesion Fund), as well as introducing specific arrangements and permanent safeguards) and on a substantially strengthened political and cultural dialogue bringing together the peoples of the EU Member States and of Turkey,

H. whereas the Commission has not proposed a date for opening accession negotiations and has indicated that the negotiation process is an open-ended process the outcome of which cannot be guaranteed in advance,

I. whereas the Commission has stated that the irreversibility of the reform process, and in particular its implementation with regard to fundamental freedoms, will need to be confirmed over a longer period of time,

J. whereas the Commission has stated that, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations or the subsequent ratification process, relations between the EU and Turkey must ensure that Turkey remains fully anchored in European structures,

K. whereas the Commission will propose revising the Accession Partnership in spring 2005 and will present a yearly general review, starting from the end of 2005, of the way in which the political reforms are consolidated and broadened,

L. whereas, in line with the Treaty on European Union, in the event of a serious and persistent breach of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law and of the principles of international law, the Commission will recommend the suspension of negotiations to the Council, which will decide by a qualified majority,

M. whereas the Commission has indicated that the EU will need to define its financial perspective for the period from 2014 onwards before negotiations can be concluded,

N. whereas the European Council stated in June 2003 that "The Union's capacity to absorb new members, while maintaining the momentum of European integration, is also an important consideration in the general interest of both the Union and the candidate countries",

O. whereas a Commission study on the impact of Turkey's accession has indicated that its accession renders a substantial reform of many EU policies indispensable,

P. whereas the Government of Turkey, in cooperation with its parliament, has adopted and implemented important constitutional and legislative changes over recent years,

Q. whereas the opening of the accession negotiations should imply that the political criteria are fulfilled and the EU will have the capacity to absorb Turkey while maintaining the momentum of European integration, and whereas compliance with 'all' the Copenhagen criteria has been the basis for accession to the Union,

R. whereas the new Penal Code and the Law on Intermediate Courts of Appeal were adopted on 26 September 2004 and the Law on Associations on 4 November 2004, while the decision on the Code of Criminal Procedure, the legislation establishing the judicial police and the law on execution of punishments and measures are still to be adopted,

S. whereas in spite of the important changes introduced in two major packages of constitutional reforms in 2001 and 2004, Turkey has retained a Constitution adopted in 1982,

T. whereas full parliamentary control over military expenditures and auditing will need to be ensured in practice on the basis of the adopted reforms,

U. whereas hundreds of cases of torture have been reported to Turkish governmental bodies and human rights organisations in both 2003 and 2004 and more than 2000 applications for asylum by Turkish citizens were accepted by EU Member States in 2003,

V. whereas the Commission underlines that legislation and implementation measures need to be further consolidated and broadened, specifically in terms of the zero tolerance policy in the fight against torture and ill-treatment and the implementation of provisions relating to freedom of expression, press freedom, freedom of religion, women's rights, children's rights including the prohibition of child labour and International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards,

W. whereas, despite the adoption of a major programme of reform, the education and training systems continue to display certain shortcomings, and whereas it is therefore desirable to improve the education on offer in the most disadvantaged regions and to improve school attendance, particularly by girls,

X. whereas on the reinforcement of religious liberty Turkey should pursue its reform in order to rapidly guarantee equal treatment for all religious communities and minorities, including in the areas of property rights, legal status, schools and internal management, environmental planning rules and the training of clergy,

Y. whereas the Kurdish people represent an important component of Turkish society and therefore their rights must be fully recognised,

Z. whereas the Greek Orthodox Halki seminary has not been re-opened despite previous appeals to the Turkish authorities by the European Parliament,

AA. whereas an integrated strategy to develop the economic, social and cultural needs of the local population in the south-east has yet to be adopted and the return of internally displaced persons in the south-east has been limited and hampered by the village guard system and by a lack of material support,

BB. whereas Turkey has yet to implement outstanding decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, including the restoration of the right to property in the Loizidou case and the Court's judgment in the case of Cyprus v. Turkey,

CC. whereas Leyla Zana and her colleagues have at last been released from unjust imprisonment and are now working for the better integration of the Kurds into mainstream political life in Turkey,

DD. whereas Turkish and Kurdish political forces, civil society organisations, religious organisations and prominent personalities in Turkey warmly support the opening of EU accession negotiations, hoping that the start of these negotiations will deepen and speed up the reform process in Turkey,

EE. whereas the border between Turkey and Armenia has still not been re-opened by the Turkish authorities, who have thereby missed an opportunity to promote good neighbourly relations with Armenia,

FF. whereas the Turkish authorities have likewise still not complied with the calls concerning the other Armenian issues made by Parliament in its resolution of 18 June 1987,

GG. whereas the re-opening to pilgrims of the ruined Armenian churches of Ani, near Kars in Eastern Anatolia, and the remarkable work carried out by the Turkish historian Halil Berktay on the genocide and the re-establishment of state relations with the Republic of Armenia represent vital steps forward, but whereas this process must be taken to its logical conclusion by re-opening the border between Turkey and Armenia,

HH. whereas in the context of the broader Cyprus issue, the international community remains concerned about the non-recognition by Turkey of the Republic of Cyprus and the fact that more than 30000 Turkish troops are stationed in Northern Cyprus,

II. whereas a continuation of the process of democratisation and the programme of socio-economic modernisation could lead Turkey to:

- play an important role in connection with a number of transnational issues (energy, water resources, transport, border management, the fight against terrorism);

- have a positive influence on the development of secular democratic states in the Islamic world as a counterweight to religious fundamentalism;

- have a positive impact on the EU's external policy achievements in a number of potentially unstable neighbouring regions, such as the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia,

1. Welcomes the political reform process in Turkey and the adopted constitutional and legislative changes that have entered into force, as well as the progress made in implementing those reforms since the European Parliament adopted its resolution of 5 June 2003 on Turkey's application for membership of the European Union [3]; none the less, is of the opinion that the Turkish authorities still have to adopt and implement further reforms and put current reforms into practice in order to fully meet the political criteria;

2. Welcomes the impressive efforts of the Turkish authorities to achieve substantial legislative and institutional convergence in Turkey towards European standards;

3. Welcomes the positive developments in the Turkish economy reflected in particular by the reduction of macro-economic imbalances and higher growth rates;

4. Welcomes the continuing strong motivation and the political will demonstrated by the Turkish Government and by the great majority of the representatives elected by the Turkish people to grow closer to the EU; welcomes the significant popular support reflected in poll results;

5. Notes with satisfaction that over the last few years Turkey has fulfilled a number of recommendations and requirements included in Parliament's resolutions regarding in particular, amongst others: the complete abolition of the death penalty, the extension of important fundamental rights and freedoms, reduction of the role of the National Security Council and the lifting of the state of emergency in the south-east; thereby complying with a number of the recommendations set out in Parliament's resolutions; regrets however the reservations expressed on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

6. Expresses its unconditional support for the civil society organisations and actors operating in Turkey in defence and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms; calls on the Council and the Commission to strengthen cooperation with such organisations in the process of monitoring Turkey's compliance with the political criteria of Copenhagen;

7. Acknowledges that the reforms implemented by the Turkish authorities have given non-governmental organisations greater scope to take action, in particular as regards the promotion of human rights, and calls on the Turkish Government to step up its efforts to eradicate all forms of intimidation and harassment of human rights activists and organisations;

8. Welcomes in particular the reform of criminal procedure, strengthening the rights of the defence; considers however that Article 305 of the new Turkish Penal Code, which sanctions alleged "threats to fundamental national interests", and the explanatory statement of which targets freedom of expression, in particular related to the Cyprus and Armenia issues, is incompatible with the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; calls therefore for its repeal;

9. Welcomes the release of Leyla Zana and her colleagues from the former Democracy Party (DEP), and calls for a fair and equitable retrial and for the immediate release of all imprisoned persons sentenced for the non-violent expression of opinions in Turkey;

10. Welcomes the fact that the Turkish Government has introduced legal changes which enable private language centres to offer courses in mother tongues other than Turkish (Kurdish, Circassian, Armenian et al.), to broadcast media programs and to open and operate stations which broadcast in other languages; calls on the Turkish Government to lift all remaining restrictions in the area of broadcasting and education in minority languages;

11. Strongly urges Turkey to actually extend these legal changes and the implementation thereof to education and broadcasting for non-Muslim minorities (Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Assyrians);

12. Invites Turkey to drastically improve its perception of ethnic and religious minorities, for instance by highlighting their contributions to the cultural heritage of the country; in particular, requests the Turkish authorities to consider some of these specific contributions such as Hasankeyf, Ani, Zeugma or Aghtamar as suitable for registration in the World Heritage List of Unesco;

13. Urges, in this respect, the Turkish government to apply EU environmental and human rights standards to large-impact projects like the construction of dams in the Munzur Valley and Ilisu, and gold-mining in Bergama, where historical heritage and unique valuable landscapes are at risk;

14. Urges the Turkish authorities to fully implement a "zero-tolerance" approach at all levels and in all aspects to the complete eradication of torture, as cases are still reported to Turkish governmental bodies and human rights organisations, and as the zero-tolerance approach is put insufficiently into practice;

15. Suggests to the Turkish Government that, when reforming the criminal procedural law, it should abrogate the statute of limitations for all criminal cases when proceedings are opened; calls on the Turkish judicial system, and in particular the prosecutors, to concentrate on cases of alleged torture, given that currently only few judicial investigations and cases against suspected perpetrators are opened; calls on Turkey to increase staffing levels in the public prosecution service in order to achieve results;

16. Calls on the Turkish authorities, in that connection, to redouble their efforts to implement that approach more effectively and, in particular, to take a more resolute approach to the issue of immunity from prosecution, and emphasises the need to step up educational programmes designed to change the attitudes of members of the police and armed forces with a view to ensuring strict compliance with the law;

17. Calls on the Turkish interior ministry to adopt and apply the policy of opening immediately, and as a matter of principle, administrative and disciplinary investigations against any police officer accused of torture or mistreatment;

18. Calls on the Turkish authorities to bring the Law on Associations, the new Penal Code and the Law on Intermediate Courts of Appeal into force and to adopt the decision on the Code of Criminal Procedure, the legislation establishing the judicial police and the law on execution of punishments and measures;

19. Calls on the Turkish authorities to significantly reform the Law on Foundations after consulting — as should be done in the case of all these Laws — those entities affected by this Law such as relevant NGOs and the broad spectrum of religious communities;

20. Calls on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its Subcommittee for Human Rights to follow closely the human rights situation in Turkey and in particular the implementation on the ground, especially regarding implementation of the principle of zero tolerance with respect to torture, the return process of displaced people in coordination with international agencies, the implementation of the campaign and the law to eradicate violence against women and the issue of protection and promotion of minority rights, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, press freedom and freedom for trade unions;

21. Reiterates its call for the electoral system to be reformed by reducing the threshold of 10 %, thereby ensuring a wider representation of political forces in the Grand National Assembly, including predominantly Kurdish parties;

22. Expresses its concern about the DEHAP trial and the danger of dissolution of the party; calls on the Turkish authorities to respect the right of freedom of expression as well as the right of organisation of democratic political parties such as DEHAP;

23. Regards the drafting of a new Constitution as a further and probably necessary reflection of the very fundamental nature of the changes required for EU membership and notes that a modern Constitution may form the basis for the modernisation of the Turkish State;

24. Reiterates the need for continuing efforts to ensure a competent and independent judiciary and calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure that all legislative changes are rapidly implemented, especially with respect to the protection of human rights, and translated into a change of conduct at all levels of the judiciary;

25. Calls on the Turkish Government to reform current inspection services by allocating the tasks involved to independent inspection services which should be given sufficient resources to operate effectively in all regions of Turkey and empowered to investigate any police detention facility at any time while closely co-operating with independent Turkish human rights NGOs;

26. Expresses its unconditional support for the civil society organisations and actors operating in Turkey in defence and promotion of fundamental freedoms;

27. Calls on the Turkish authorities to energetically pursue their fight against corruption, which still seriously affects economic, political and social life; welcomes the Turkish authorities' efforts against corruption, including the ratification of the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention and the UN Convention against Corruption, and membership of the Council of Europe's Group of States against corruption (GRECO);

28. Welcomes the reforms which have strengthened the principle of gender equality and draws attention to the progress on women's rights embodied in the new Penal Code, but reiterates its concern that domestic violence and other forms of violence against women are still widespread, especially in underdeveloped and rural parts of the country, and urges the Turkish authorities to provide full legal protection and judicial and economic aid to victims, as well as shelters and similar facilities, and to support NGOs providing these shelters and similar facilities; calls on the Commission to support such efforts within the EU assistance programmes; calls on the Turkish authorities to introduce programmes to eradicate female illiteracy;

29. Calls on the Turkish authorities to engage in a constant dialogue with the European Parliament on women's rights in Turkey and to take note in this regard of the resolution on the role of women in Turkey in social, economic and political life, due to be discussed in 2005 in the European Parliament;

30. Welcomes the fact that the Turkish authorities have made changes to the Penal Code with a view to repealing all legal provisions which reflect a lenient approach to crimes motivated by honour; nevertheless, emphasises the need to create conditions under which individuals can report such practices to the authorities in complete safety and confidentiality and to ensure that crimes of honour are properly investigated and prosecuted;

31. Urges all parties involved to put an immediate end to the hostilities in the south-east of the country; invites the Turkish Government to take more active steps to bring about reconciliation with those Kurdish forces who have chosen to abandon the use of arms;

32. Calls on the Turkish authorities to step up their efforts to ensure that women whose free access to primary or secondary education is hindered by difficulties stemming from their family or cultural environment are able to assert to the full their right to an education;

33. Stresses that the overall situation in the south-east has improved since 1999, in terms of both security and respect for fundamental rights; calls on the Turkish Government to develop plans to enable people who wish to do so to return to their villages and towns in the south-east and to properly address the problems currently caused by the village guard system; urges Turkey to disarm the village guards and disband the village guard system; calls on Turkey to collaborate closely with international bodies, such as the United Nations, the EU and the Council of Europe, to support and speed up the return of internally displaced persons, in conformity with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and urges the authorities to develop an integrated regional development concept to economically develop the south-east as a region and foster the overall modernisation of society;

34. Calls on Turkey to lift the geographical reservation to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees;

35. Calls on the Turkish authorities to apply the ILO standards for trade union rights and to introduce further legislation prohibiting the employment of children;

36. Calls on the Turkish Government to remove all barriers for trade unions to organise themselves and to promote freedom of association by repealing the clause requiring preliminary authorisation from the Government for the creation of new organisations and to smooth the path towards the development of a real social dialogue dimension as one of the pillars of the economic and social model;

37. Calls on the Turkish Government to limit the political role of the army further through ongoing reforms;

38. Welcomes the fact that the principle of the primacy of international law over national law has been enshrined in the Turkish Constitution as far as the European Convention on Human Rights is concerned and calls on the Turkish authorities to respect all its provisions and to implement without delay the still outstanding decisions of the European Court of Human Rights;

39. Calls on Turkey to promote the process of reconciliation with the Armenian people by acknowledging the genocide perpetrated against the Armenians as expressed in the European Parliament's earlier resolutions with regard to Turkey's candidate status (from 18 June 1987 to 1 April 2004);

40. Believes that the Governments of Turkey and Armenia have to continue their process of reconciliation, possibly with the assistance of a bilateral committee of independent experts, in order to overcome explicitly the tragic experience of the past, and requests the Turkish Government to re-open the borders with Armenia as soon as possible;

41. Calls on the Commission and the Council to demand that the Turkish authorities formally acknowledge the historic reality of the genocide perpetrated against the Armenians in 1915 and open the border between Turkey and Armenia at an early date, in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament between 1987 and 2004;

42. In the context of continuing to improve regional stability and fostering better relations with her neighbours, asks Turkey to be sensitive to the water requirements of these countries, with particular reference to the lower Mesopotamian Marshes in Iraq and Iran, where water flows have been significantly reduced by the construction of the Ataturk Dam; requests that Turkey set up working groups with her neighbours, including Syria, to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of water from rivers with their headwaters rising in Turkey;

43. Reiterates its call to the Turkish authorities to put an immediate end to all activities discriminating against and creating difficulties for religious minorities and communities, including in the areas of property rights, legal status, schools and internal management, environmental planning rules and the training of clergy, and requests as a first clear sign of implementation the immediate re-opening of the Greek Orthodox Halki seminary and the public use of the ecclesiastical title of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; calls on Turkey, bearing in mind the current difficulties, to act in accordance with the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights; calls for the recognition and protection of the Alevites, including the recognition of Cem houses as religious centres, and for all religious education to be voluntary and to cover not only Sunni religion; calls for the protection of the fundamental rights of all Christian minorities and communities in Turkey (e.g. Greeks of Istanbul, Imvros and Tenedos);

44. Whilst respecting the democratic will of the Greek Cypriot community, regrets 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 its 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 on the Turkish authorities to recognise the Republic of Cyprus; calls 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 members of the EU on the other; the Republic of Cyprus is one of those Member States; the opening of negotiations obviously implies the recognition of Cyprus by Turkey;

45. Calls on the Council to deliver on promises and to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community; expects the rapid adoption of the two regulations on economic aid and trade with the northern part of the island;

46. Reminds the Turkish authorities of the need to resolve any outstanding disputes with neighbouring states in accordance with the UN Charter and relevant Treaties; further reminds the Turkish authorities of the impact on the accession process of good neighbourly relations and abstention from threats and tensionprone military activities; as stated in the Helsinki European Council Conclusions, failing a settlement, outstanding delimitation issues should be brought before the International Court of Justice with a view to a final determination; also invites the Turkish authorities to abolish all existing restrictions applying to ships flying the Cypriot flag and involved in trade concerning a Member State of the EU;

47. Calls on the Commission to include all the necessary political reforms in the revised Accession Partnership and stresses the need for continued and effective Community assistance based on a revised Accession Partnership and adapted, as far as possible, to Turkey's needs in terms of compliance with the Copenhagen criteria;

48. Requests the Commission, the Council and the Member States to take all necessary steps in order for the European Constitution to enter into force so that the EU can fulfil the preconditions for its smooth functioning and boost its capacity to absorb new Member States;

49. Welcomes the Commission's recommendation to monitor the implementation of the legal reforms, respect for the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and its commitment to recommend, in line with the Treaty on European Union and the Constitution for Europe, the suspension of the negotiations in the event of a serious and persistent breach of these principles; urges the Commission and the Council to consult the Parliament hereon;

50. Recalls the conclusions of the European Council of 21 and 22 June 1993 setting out the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership and calls on the European Council, in its decision on starting negotiations with Turkey, to state that the Union's capacity to absorb Turkey as a member, while maintaining the momentum of European integration, constitutes an important criterion for accession, from the point of view both of the Union and of candidates for accession;

51. Encourages the Turkish authorities to continue with the reforms designed to strengthen mechanisms to safeguard human rights, such as the possibility offered to members of the public to submit a complaint to an independent body; in that connection, therefore, regards as important the establishment in the near future of the office of Ombudsman;

52. Emphasises, in that connection, the importance of exchange and training programmes for judicial officers and judges and of attendance at the symposiums on Community law which Turkey has started to organise in cooperation with both the EU and some of its Member States and with the Council of Europe;

53. Notes with interest the progress made in the context of the economic criteria, and in particular the compliance of Turkey with the acquis communautaire in the fields of energy, industrial policy, research and telecommunications; considers, however, that this has been uneven across the various areas, which makes at least four reforms necessary: an enhanced administrative capacity required to implement and enforce the acquis, an operationally independent authority to monitor State aid, increased funds for science and research because Turkey's capacity remains limited owing to the low level of expenditure as a percentage of GDP and a revised legal framework for the telecommunications sector, with the aim of changing the market structure which is dominated by large, powerful companies;

54. Calls on the Commission and the Council to conduct an annual follow-up of the impact study, to carry out other relevant studies related to the possible accession of Turkey, including the necessary reforms of EU policies, and to present their conclusions to the European Parliament and the national Parliaments of the EU Member States;

55. Highlights that 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; expects the Commission and the Council to demonstrate on the basis of facts that this has been achieved;

56. Calls in this context on the Commission and the Council 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;

57. 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 and the rule of law, and after consultation of the European Parliament, the suspension of negotiations, in line with the Treaty on European Union;

58. Notes that the negotiations with Turkey can only be concluded following the definition of the EU's financial perspective for the period from 2014 onwards;

59. 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 perspectives from 2014 onwards;

60. 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;

61. Regards the European Union's capacity to cope with enlargement as a prerequisite, as part of the Copenhagen criteria, and therefore considers that the European Union, for its part, must be capable of political and institutional reform;

62. Underlines the importance of the opinion of the EU citizens about a possible accession agreement; therefore urges the Turkish Government and the Commission, in the light of the third pillar, to initiate campaigns to inform citizens of both the EU and Turkey through exchange programmes and public events that will increase awareness of the integration process and foster mutual understanding; expects from the Commission concrete proposals for action to give effective support to this process and to promote deeper political and cultural dialogue between the EU and Turkish society; stresses that the process of the convergence of Turkey to the EU criteria must be conducted in a fair and transparent way;

63. Stresses that the opening of negotiations will be the starting point for a long-lasting process that 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;

64. Is of the opinion that in the context of a possible accession it is now up to the Turkish authorities to prove that they can truly fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria and to confirm over a longer period of time that the reform process, which will have to be continued and implemented, is fundamental and irreversible;

65. Calls on the Turkish authorities to encourage frequent visits from and dialogue with the European Parliament, without restrictions;

66. Considers that, regardless of whether or not negotiations are successfully concluded, relations between the EU and Turkey must ensure that Turkey remains fully anchored in European structures;

67. Considers 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;

- in accordance with the Commission's requirements, six important remaining pieces of legislation are to be adopted and enforced prior to the beginning of negotiations;

- all mechanisms envisaged by the Commission to ensure close monitoring, intensive political dialogue and a possible suspension of negotiations, if necessary, are fully effective;

68. Considering the overall progress outlined in the report of the Commission and taking into account the above provisions of this resolution, calls upon the European Council to open the negotiations with Turkey without undue delay;

69. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and 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] Not yet published in OJ.

[2] Texts Adopted, P5_TA(2004)0274.

[3] OJ C 68 E, 18.3.2004, p. 592.

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