The day after Turkey’s EU Progress Report
Article by Neoklis Sylikiotis, AKEL Political Bureau member, MEP and GUE/NGL Vice-President
Monday, 21st March 2016
A few days ago Turkey’s Progress Report for 2015 was approved in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. As a result, the Political Groups were called to state their position on major political issues.
It is very significant that the majority of MEP’s voted in favour of important references in relation to the Cyprus problem. More specifically, the report supports the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus into a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with a single sovereignty, a single citizenship and a single international personality and with political equality in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and International Law. This specific comprehensive reference to the form of the solution, which was promoted on the initiative of AKEL, strengthens the struggle we are waging for the solution of the Cyprus problem, against the consolidation of the current partitionist status quo. The report passed also calls on Turkey to support the negotiation procedure, to begin withdrawing its troops from Cyprus, to stop the settlement of Turks in the occupied territories, and to refrain from actions in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus and to transfer the fenced-off city of Famagusta to the United Nations, in accordance with resolution 550 of the UN Security Council. These references however will have greater value to the extent that they will be used to exercise the necessary pressures on Turkey. Nothing therefore has ended with the adoption of the report in the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
Especially with regards the problematic and negative references which have been included in the report, both in relation to Turkey’s obligations towards Cyprus and to the role assigned to it in the region, we must act promptly to remove them during the upcoming plenary vote in the European Parliament.
For example, we cannot accept the reference included in the report for the opening of the EU accession chapters 23 (on Fundamental Rights) and 24 (on Justice), which were unilaterally frozen by the Republic of Cyprus. How indeed can the opening of these chapters be justified when Turkey itself continues to grossly violate the human rights and fundamental freedoms even of its own people? How can the opening of chapters be justified when Turkey continues provocatively not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and violates its sovereign rights?
Besides, the report itself quite correctly criticizes Turkey for the violation of fundamental rights, the persecution against the Kurds, journalists, academics and for censorship, as well as for the increasing violence against women. So, how is the call for the opening of Chapters 23 and 24 in line with Turkey’s persistent refusal to fulfil its obligations towards Cyprus, when indeed in the report itself it is noted that Turkey has not fully implemented and without discrimination the Additional Protocol?
Equally problematic however is the role given to Turkey especially with regards dealing with the refugee crisis and the positive reference made in the EU-Turkey Action Plan. It is unacceptable that Turkey’s stance on the refugees is praised and that its supposedly great humanitarian contribution is greeted when in fact it has not taken any substantive measure to support the refugees. Let alone the fact that the negative role played by Turkey in the intervention in Syria, which led to the bloodshed of the Syrian people, is deceitfully suppressed in the report.
AKEL, with the support of the Confederal Group of the European United Left group, will seek to improve the text in the vote in the plenary. Our main goal remains for the EU to force Turkey to assume its responsibilities, pointing out that its accession course is dependent on the democratization of the country itself, but also by the termination of the occupation and the reunification of Cyprus.
