newsitems EU Parliament drops Turkey Accession, prefers Relationship. +Ashton for Deep Democracy in Neighbours
EU Parliament drops Turkey Accession, prefers Relationship. +Ashton for Deep Democracy in Neighbours
Adopting last minute Amendments in a key Resolution on EU Foreign Policy after a landmark Debate on EU High Representative Baroness Ashton's declaration of Principles for New EU Neighborhood Strategy since the recent Changes evolving in 3rd Mediterranean Countries, (See infra), EU Parliament's Plenary in Strasbourg, rejected the term "Accession" for Turkey, replacing it by the Neutral term "Future Relationship" between "EU and Turkey" :
- With a Majority of 338 against 280 Votes, MEPs refused a controversial Draft which had vainly felt a "need for a renewed Momentum in Turkey's accession (sic !) negotiations" in order "to avoid a potential Standstill", and replaced it, instead, with another, quite Different sentence, which asks "a long-term Strategic approach to be taken by both the EU and Turkey towards their Future Relationship", (i.e. something which could be also a kind of "Privileged Partnership", etc).
Moreover, MEPs observe and "deplore the virtual STAGNATION of Turkey's accession" initial bid, which has notoriously become controversial and unpopular in recent years, atteste the existence of "Obstacles" in front of it, and "Warn of seriouss, long-term Problems if the EU - Turkey Relationship is not stabilised", in one way or another. Despite that, MEPs "hope" that "Turkey will continue its Modernization.. at any case".
+ MEPs also adopted another relevant Amendment, on this same occasion, Warning Ankara that EU's decisions in this regard depend from "All" its "Member States", i.e. including f.ex. Cyprus (that Ankara notoriously still refuses to recognize, while also Occupying with its Military the Northern Part of that EU Country), as well as France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and other EU States more or less opposed to Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid.
Significantly, both these 2 key amendments were tabled by experienced, mainstream British MEP Andrew Duff, of the Liberal/Democrat Group, from the New Governing Liberal/Conservative Majority of Clegg and Cameron at the U.K., - inevitably reminding Lloyd George/young Winston Churchill's (also Liberal/Conservative) famous, Historic opposal to Ottoman Turkey's oppression against Arabs, Amenians and Greeks, etc. during the 1915-1922 period.. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
The move came after EU High Representative on Common Foreign and Security Policy, EU Commission's vice-President, Baroness Cathy Ashton, in a landmark speech on the "Main aspects and Basic Choices" of CFSP, focused from the outset, speaking from the point of view of General Principles, on the "Winds of Change" which are "Blowing accross Countries we call our Neighbours", posing "Great Challenges for Europe, but also Opportunities we cannot afford to miss", including "Aspirations" and "Expectations" to meet the "Need for (what she called) Deep Democracy", I.e.; "Respect for the Rule of Law, Freedom of Speech, Respect for Human Rights, an Independent Judiciary and Impartial Administration" : "It's not just about Changing Governments.. In the long run, Surface Democracy, that floats on the top - people casting their Votes freely on Election Date ... - will not survive if Deep Democracy fails to take root", as she said.
- "Europe has Choices to make.. As we look at our Neighborhood, we have to be ready to rise to the Challenges hat are being asked of us. I can make Hundreds of Statements, and I do : "I deplore, condemn, urge, demand. But we also need to Act. And that Action has to comme in Different Forms", she added. "Change does not necessarily assure Progress, but Progress absolutely requires Change", Ashton underlined. "And that means we (EU) have to be more Determined to Act... We have to decide that we will all play our part. But if we only do it when the Media's Attention is on those Countries or on us, then we will fail", she warned. On the contrary, "we (EU) have got to Help our Neighbours Not just to Start their Journey towards Democracy, but to Complete it", concluded EU's CFSP Head.
All this apparently sounds Negatively for Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, particularly considering also CoE's recent anouncement that Turkey, even after more than 16 Years of Condemnations by ECHR for exceptionally grave Human Rights Violations, (such as Killings, Torture, abritrary deprivation of liberty, Violations of Freedom of Speech, Association, Religion, etc), +1995-2011, still persists into having a Growing Quantity of New Cases of Judgements condemning Ankara transmited to CoE's Committee of Ministers in order to supervise their implementation, remaining (and even aggravating since 2010 !) its No 1, Record High position among the 47 Member States of the PanEuropean CoE in attested Human Rights Violations in Serious cases of particularly Grave Concern :
- Thus, according to the Latest CoE Data, made available on April 2011, Turkey (No 1)represents .. 20% of "New Cases" of ECHR Condemnations introduced in 2010 (augmenti,g + 2% from 2009), compared to "only" 13% for Russia, (No 2), which has, nevertheless, a more than Twice bigger Population, followed by Romania and Poland with 9%, as well as Ukraine with 8%, etc.
- Moreover, Turkey also represents the No 1 Number of exceptionaly Serious, Grave Human Rights Violations, condemned by ECHR in "Leading Cases", which have been "Pending", at CoE's Committee of Ministers, without Implementation "for more than two Years" Time, at the End of 2010, totaling some 16% among CoE's 48 Countries, followed by Russia and Bulgaria with 9%, Romania with 7%, Ukraine and Italy with 6%, etc.
Thus, Turkey obviously continues, and even aggravates recently, its No 1 Reponsibility for ECHR and all CoE's notorious Overload in Human Rights' Violations cases, particularly the most serious, grave, and numerous...
=> In these conditions, everyone can understand the Doubts recently expressed even by EU Chairman-in-office, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Nemeth, speaking in a Press Conference at EU Parliament in Strasbourg, (Comp. relevant Replies of the Hungarian EU Presidency to "EuroFora"s Questions on this occasion, already sent earlier to Donors/Subscribers), concerning Turkey's place vis a vis EU's New Neighborhood Policy :
- Speaking about the need to re-think anew EU's Neighborhood Policy, the EU Council's Chairman-in-office observed critically that "Turkey, is ... Difficut to Distinguish, but, Is it a...factor towards the Caucasian Region, or more and more under the Southern sphere of influence ?", as he wondered, focusing on recent Changes and/or Aspirations for real Democratisation in 3rd Mediterranean Countries, from Morocco up to Syria and beyond..
Indeed, since EU Parliament adopted, since April 2011, a crystal-clear Resolution on the on-going Changes in 3rd Mediterranean Countries, asking mainly to considerably strenghen, and start to really apply, the Human Rights and Democracy Clauses in all instruments concerning their relations with the EU, it obviously becomes impossible, Today, for the EU to credibly promisse Human Rights' Respect to the People of all other Neighbouring, 3rd Mediterranean Countries, except from Turkey, without being accused to practice Double Standards !
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Scientific innovation joined to Faith for Human Rights, Eastern Partnership and fight against the Crisis, but above all, the need to overcome the "Crisis of Trust" from EU Citizens, are the main priorities for new EU Parliament's President, Polish Jerzy Buzek, that a 555-votes-strong majority of MEPs on July 14, Strasbourg made a living symbol of the fact that, 20 years after the fall of Berlin Wall (1989 - 2009) there is no more an Eastern or Western Europe, but only one Europe, as the head of the largest group of MEPs, ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Joseph Daul, stressed after the event.
Speaking later to a group of Strasbourg's Journalists, including "EuroFora", the new EU Parliament's President clarified his stance on concrete topical issues, as f.ex. that of Turkey's controversial EU bid, which was one of the main issues of the June 2009 Electoral campain, clearly won by his party of ChristianDemocrats/EPP : - "At present, Turkey does not fullfil none of EU conditions", he stressed, (See infra).
Buzek is well known in Strasbourg and to "EuroFora" as EU Rapporteur for the Framework Program of Scientific Research and Development of Technologies. A Natural Science Professor from the Historic and Religious landmark Polish City of Częstochowa, active in the famous Solidarnosk grass-roots social movement, he served 4 years as Prime Minister (1997-2001), before being elected as MEP in 2004 and 2009, after he brillantly won the latest EU Election at the head of his party (EPP) almost doubling the number of its MEPs from 15 to 28 !
- "Innovation" and "Energy safety", as well as fight against the "Cimat change", but also "Eastern Partnership", the "Mediterranean", "Strategic partnerships" with Russia, the USA, etc, and the search for "solutions to the Economic Crisis" that EU Citizens "expect" from us, will be his "priorities", announced from the outset the new EU Parliament's President, reminding also that the quest for "Human and Civic Rights" played an important role in his experience with the Solidarnosc grass-roots social movement in Poland's History
But, the most important of all, is the urgent need to overcome the "Crisis of Trust" between EU Institutions and the People he stressed : - EU "Citizens often don't understand us", denounced Buzek, launcing a call to "do anything for EU Citizens to understand our work" in EU Parliament : "We (MEPs) need to make EU Citizens involved" in "what we are doing every week, in Strasbourg and Brussels", he proposed. Pointing f.ex. to the hot "Debates" with "strong arguments" exchanged between MEPs during the preparation of their Legislative Decisions, in Committees, delivering often hard struggles between initially opposed points of view, long before forging a majority at the final vote, sometimes more than a year..
Therefore, EU Parliament will be "open to your criticism, for discussion and exchange of views", he promissed to Journalists in Strasbourg.
In this way, Buzek, in fact, highlighted "EuroFora"s main idea, that we strongly advocate since 1997-2007, to systematicaly and actively involve EU Citizens in public debates during the decision-making process of important EU measures, which affect their lives and the society in which they live, (and not only just a few weeks each 4 or 5 Years at the eve of EU Elections)...
--------------------
This is related also to the symbolic gift that Buzek chose to give to the out-going former EU Parliament's President, Hans Gert Poettering, (2007-2009), his collegue in the ChristianDemocrats/EPP, who brillantly won 2009 EU Elections in Germany : A genuine statute of sainte Barbara crafted in Silesia's black Coal by Polish Miners : Those simple but strong people who fought for social change against some technocrats and bureaucrats disguissed into so-called "real-socialists" of old times. (PHOTO).
It's enough to have seen a popular open air mass, at Warsaw's center, with many thousands of people, old and young, simple workers and intellectuals mixed together, with references to Poland's history and struggles for survival and liberty, through various ages, (as fex. that organized at the eve of CoE's 2005 panEuropean Heads of State and Government for the beatification of late Pope John-Paul II), in order to understand what such symbols mean..
But, overcoming the "Crisis of Trust" with EU Citizens obviously implies also to rectify any errors done in the past, fex. on Turkey's controversial EU bid, with controversial decisions taken in 1999 and 2004 to give a "candidate" status and to start EU negotiations, provoking an unprecedented series of 3 "No" to EuroReferenda and 3 Majoriy Abstentions in EU Parliament Elections : 1999, 2005 and 2009, (even if the latest one succeeded to decelerate and almost stop the drop of participation rates, opening hopes for vote's revival after an electoral campaign clearly critical to Turkey's claims in several mainstream EU countries)
Therefore, Buzek was faced with manifold critical Questions on EU Enlargement, most of them citting concrete examples of certain political problems : But his replies were almost always given as a matter of general principle :
F.ex. Questioned on the suspension of EU - Croatia talks because of a Border conflict with EU Member Slovenia, Buzek prefered to speak about principles :
- "We know that during Enlargement, the process can be blocked by failure to resolve this kind of issues", This concerns also other enlargments' cases", and "these rules are always in force" he warned.
But Buzek avoided to directly reply to a queston on "French and German EPP' calls to define the Borders of Europe", as a German journalist asked him by making a reference to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and German Chancellor Angie Merkel's, critical statements on Turkey at the June 2009 Electoral campain.
- "Concerning Enlargement, there's always the same rules : There have to be Criteria, which have to be respected if a Country wants to join the EU", he started to simply reply.
- "For my country (Poland) it took us 15 Years to fullfil these Criteria", Buzek reminded, indicating, if proportions are kept, that Turkey, fex. would have to spend some 25 years before eventually joining the EU..
- "Countries wishing to join the EU need to Change their Systems", as we (Poland and other former Eastern European Countries) did, he stressed.
- "'For me, meeting the condition of Human Rights is one of the Key conditions for membership in the EU", preferring again to speak from the point of view of General Principles, on the occasion of an untimely question on Serbia (which is not even a candidate yet)...
- "Turkey" has, "first of all", to fullfil (EU) Copenhagen criteria". Bevause, currently, none of them is fullfiled by Turkey", New EU Parliament's President, denounced, speaking later to a group of Journalists, including "EuroFora".
In particular, on Human Rights : - "We (EU) can never forget Human Rights", because "this is at the very Foundations of the EU", Buzek added.
On the contrary, when he referred to EU Enlargment for the "Western Balkans Countries ", Buzek appeared upbeat, finding "promising situations", despite "difficulties" in the Past, since "Countries are queuing to become EU members", and this "generated changes", as he said.
As for Russia, Buzek observed that it was a "very important" country, located "in the same Continent", Europe, "close to our borders", and "we need eachother". "But Russia' has 'differend poblems : "They claim that their system is Democratic, but rules are differend", and we must be "aware of such differencies", fex. "on Human Rights", that we can't ignore, as he said;
Concerning China, where a journalist observed that the recipient of EU Parliament's latest "Sakharov prize" for freedom of thought is "still in prison", Buzek found that since the 1999 events in Tien Amin square, "we see differencies on Human Rights still today", and expressed his "support" for those who try to ameliorate the situation.
On the contrary, speaking recently to "EuroFora" he strongly supported the idea for an EU - Ukraine cooperation, fex. between Airbus and Antonov, in order to build a less costly but more performant than the old and problematic A400M, new Military Transport Airplane : - "They (Ukranian Antonov Company) can certainly do it. I'm sure they can. It's a good Idea, and I'd be glad if it was done", he told us. (See : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/airbusantonov.html )