MESOP REPORT FROM BRUSSEL / EU PARLIAMENT – ALL MOTIONS & RESOLUTION ON TURKEY ( FULL TEXT)

For your information, please find attached the English version (the only version available now, official translations in EU languages will follow) of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee’s draft resolution on the “2015 Report on Turkey” (EU Enlargement), as released in its official format by the EP Plenary Services few moments ago. The attachment is of course the version recently adopted by the above-mentioned committee. Let me remind you that the draftswoman is the Socialist Dutch Member of the European Parliament Ms Kati PIRI.

The resolution will be discussed and adopted newt week in Strasbourg – France, with the following deadlines / timing.

  • Members and EP Political Groups have time now until MONDAY 11th of April at 19h00 to table possible amendments.
  • The debate on the resolution is foreseen for next WEDNESDAY 13th of April, “somewhere” between 15h00 and 23h00 (impossible to be more precise at this stage, there are two items in the agenda before the debate on Piri’s resolution, in my personal opinion it will be around 16h00/30, but this remain to be checked // European Commission’s and EU Council’s representatives will also speak on the item)
  • The formal vote / adoption of the report, including of possible amendments, is foreseen for next THURSDAY 14th of April, the votes will start at 12h00.

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Amendment 1 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group – Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Citation 10

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

– having regard to the Negotiating Framework for Turkey’s accession to the EU of 3 October 2005,

– having regard to the Negotiating Framework for Turkey of 3 October 2005,

Or. en

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Amendment 2 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Citation 17

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

– having regard to the fact that respect for the rule of law, including in particular the separation of powers, freedom of expression, and the rights of minorities, are at the core of the accession process,

– having regard to the fact that respect for the rule of law, including in particular the separation of powers, democracy, freedom of expression, human rights, the rights of minorities and religious freedom, are at the core of the negotiation process,

Or. en

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Amendment 3 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on behalf of the ALDE Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 37

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Supports a renewed political engagement between the EU and Turkey on geopolitical challenges, in particular the refugee and migration crisis; acknowledges Turkey’s great humanitarian contribution in hosting the largest refugee population in the world; urges the EU and Turkey to join forces in improving and ensuring decent living conditions and basic capacities of refugee camps and to facilitate the work of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in order to avoid the massive exodus of migrants; urges the EU to continue to work with Turkish government officials to ensure correct documentation of migrants; recalls that Turkey is one of the key transit countries for migrants and refugees traveling to the EU, not just from Syria but from many other countries; stresses the importance of cooperating with Turkey in managing the refugee crisis and preventing losses of life at sea;
  2. Supports a renewed political engagement between the EU and Turkey on geopolitical challenges, in particular the refugee and migration crisis; acknowledges Turkey’s great humanitarian contribution in hosting the largest refugee population in the world; urges the EU and Turkey to join forces in improving and ensuring decent living conditions and basic capacities of refugee camps and to facilitate the work of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in order to avoid the massive exodus of migrants; urges the EU to continue to work with Turkish government officials to ensure correct documentation of migrants; recalls that Turkey is one of the key transit countries for migrants and refugees travelling to the EU, not just from Syria but from many other countries; stresses the importance of cooperating with Turkey in managing the refugee crisis and preventing losses of life at sea; welcomes the NATO monitoring mission in the Aegean Sea;

Or. en

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Amendment 4 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 42

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Underlines that stemming migration to the EU should not lead to pushbacks of refugees or illegal detention; reiterates its call on Turkey to lift the geographic reservation to the 1951 Geneva Convention; insists that it is crucial to put in place safe and legal routes for refugees, and urges the Member States to increase their resettlement efforts substantially; is of the opinion that only a political solution to the Syrian crisis can provide a lasting response to this humanitarian crisis;
  2. Underlines that stemming migration to the EU should not lead to pushbacks of refugees or illegal detention; reiterates its call on Turkey to lift the geographic reservation to the 1951 Geneva Convention; insists that it is crucial to put in place safe and legal routes for refugees, and urges the Member States to increase their resettlement efforts substantially; is of the opinion that it is imperative to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis; urges Turkey to increase substantially its efforts to find a political solution, namely to overcome its reservations against the participation of the Kurds in the peace talks in Geneva;

Or. en

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Amendment 5 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 45

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Encourages the government to fully and in a non-discriminatory manner meet the criteria identified in the visa liberalisation roadmap vis-à-vis all Member States; recalls that visa liberalisation is a merit-based process and that only when the standards have been met, will visa-free travel be possible for Turkish citizens; asks the Commission to provide more technical assistance for the fulfilment of the conditions of the visa liberalisation roadmap;
  2. Encourages the government to fully and in a non-discriminatory manner meet the criteria identified in the visa liberalisation roadmap vis-à-vis all Member States; recalls that visa liberalisation is a merit-based process, directly linked to the full implementation of the EU-Turkey readmission agreement, and that only when the standards have been met, will visa-free travel be possible for Turkish citizens;

Or. en

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Amendment 6 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 52

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Welcomes the initiative of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, to make Turkish an official language of the EU, and urges the parties to accelerate this process; notes that the implementation of the EU acquis in the future Turkish Cypriot constituent state upon entry into force of the settlement agreement must already be well prepared; welcomes, in this connection, the establishment of the bi-communal ad hoc committee on EU preparation; encourages both the European Parliament and the Commission to intensify their efforts to engage with Turkish Cypriots in preparation to fully integrate into the EU; encourages the President of the European Parliament to take the necessary steps in the event of a settlement;
  2. Welcomes the initiative of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, to make Turkish an official language of the EU, and urges the parties to accelerate this process after the settlement of the Cyprus question in line with the values and principles upon which the EU is founded; notes that the implementation of the EU acquis in the future Turkish Cypriot constituent state upon entry into force of the settlement agreement must already be well prepared; welcomes, in this connection, the establishment of the bi-communal ad hoc committee on EU preparation; encourages both the European Parliament and the Commission to intensify their efforts to engage with Turkish Cypriots in preparation to fully integrate into the EU; encourages the President of the European Parliament to take the necessary steps in the event of a settlement;

Or. en

 

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Amendment 7 – Renate Sommer on behalf of the PPE Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

2015 report on Turkey – Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 14

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Is extremely concerned about the allegations by Eren Erdem, an MP from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), that the Turkish state might have been involved in supplying all the necessary materials to produce sarin gas to ISIL/Daesh, which led to gas attacks in Syria in August 2013; calls for a thorough investigation into these allegations by the Joint Investigative Mechanism established by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and a report to the UN Security Council, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2118 (2013);

Deleted  Or. En

 

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Amendment 8 – Mario Borghezio  on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Recital B

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. whereas the EU remains committed to further enlargement as a key policy to promote peace, democracy, security and prosperity in Europe; whereas each candidate country will be judged on its own merits;
  2. whereas further EU enlargement should not be a goal in itself;

Or. en

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Amendment 9 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri – on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 2

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Underlines that Turkey is a key strategic partner for the EU and that active and credible negotiations would provide a suitable framework for exploiting the full potential of EU-Turkey relations; takes note of the reinvigoration of the negotiation process by the EU and hopes that the opening of chapters will lead to concrete progress; calls, in this connection, for concrete progress and a genuine commitment on Turkey’s part; reiterates its call on the Commission to reassess the way in which negotiations have been conducted so far and how EU-Turkey relations and cooperation could be improved and intensified; strongly supports a structured, more frequent and open high-level political dialogue on key thematic issues of joint interest such as migration, counter-terrorism, energy, economy and trade;
  2. Regrets the reinvigoration of the negotiation process by the EU; reminds the Commission of its pledge, in 2004, to suspend the negotiations if Turkey were to clearly fall short of its obligations to meet the Copenhagen criteria; calls on the Commission and the Council to put a stop to the negotiation process;

Or. en

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Amendment 10 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 19

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Takes the view that the constitutional reform process should develop into a secular, pluralistic, inclusive and tolerant society; underlines that a new Constitution should be based on widespread consensus across the political spectrum and in society as a whole, with full respect for the rights of minorities, irrespective of their cultural or religious background, thereby providing a solid base for fundamental freedoms and the rule of law; urges Turkey to fully respect the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular freedom of religious and ethnic minorities; emphasises the need to enact comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, including the prohibition of discrimination and hate speech on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, and to include the prohibition of such discrimination in a new Constitution; underlines that this should not prevent Turkey from granting specific rights to citizens on the basis of ethnic origin, religion or language, so that they can preserve their identity; notes, in this connection, that further action is needed to address the problems faced by members of the Greek minority, in particular with regard to education and property rights;
  2. Takes the view that the constitutional reform process should develop into a secular, pluralistic, inclusive and tolerant society; underlines that a new Constitution should be based on widespread consensus across the political spectrum and in society as a whole, with full respect for the rights of minorities, irrespective of their cultural or religious background, thereby providing a solid base for fundamental freedoms and the rule of law; urges Turkey to fully respect the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular freedom of religious and ethnic minorities; emphasises the need to enact comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, including the prohibition of discrimination and hate speech on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, and to include the prohibition of such discrimination in a new Constitution; underlines that this should not prevent Turkey from granting specific rights to citizens on the basis of ethnic origin, religion or language, so that they can preserve their identity; notes, in this connection, that further action is needed to address the problems faced by members of the Greek minority, in particular with regard to education and property rights;

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EN United in diversity EN

urges the Turkish authorities to take judicial measures against the people and bodies responsible for committing any sort of hate crime, including anti-Semitism, as was declared in the government’s ‘Democratisation Package’ in 2013; condemns the passive attitude of the Turkish Government towards the serious threats against Christians and their pastors in social media; expects the Turkish Government to treat every Turkish citizen without any prejudice towards his or her religious belief; calls on the Turkish authorities, given that Turkey has the world’s largest population of the Roma minority, to implement concrete and effective measures to achieve de facto equal rights for Roma in Turkish society and to improve the situation of Roma, with special attention to the situation of Roma children and the inclusion of Roma women;

urges the Turkish authorities to take judicial measures against the people and bodies responsible for committing any sort of hate crime, including anti-Semitism, as was declared in the government’s ‘Democratisation Package’ in 2013; condemns the passive attitude of the Turkish Government towards the serious threats against Christians and their pastors in social media; expects the Turkish Government to treat every Turkish citizen without any prejudice towards his or her religious belief; calls on the Turkish authorities, given that Turkey has the world’s largest population of the Roma minority, to implement concrete and effective measures to achieve de facto equal rights for Roma in Turkish society and to improve the situation of Roma, with special attention to the situation of Roma children and the inclusion of Roma women; calls on Turkey to recognise the Armenian Genocide;

Or. en

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Amendment 11 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri  on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 34

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Welcomes Turkey’s participation in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and the opening of its bases to the United States and coalition forces; urges Turkey to act with the necessary restraint and in full cooperation with its Western allies;
  2. Is not fully convinced by Turkey’s participation in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL;

Or. en

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Amendment 12 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group – Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 35 – Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Urges Turkey to continue to increase its efforts to prevent foreign fighters, money and equipment from reaching ISIL/Daesh and other extremist groups via its territory; is concerned that the Turkish authorities might not have taken all possible measures to stop and prevent ISIL/Daesh activities, in particular to combat illegal oil trafficking across its borders; asks the EU to enhance its capacity to exchange information and to cooperate closely with the Turkish authorities in this matter in order to give further support to combating smuggling networks; notes shortcomings in the arrest of foreign fighters and in controlling borders with Iraq and Syria;
  2. Urges Turkey to prevent foreign fighters, money and equipment from reaching ISIL/Daesh and other extremist groups via its territory; is concerned that the Turkish authorities might not have taken all possible measures to stop and prevent ISIL/Daesh activities, in particular to combat illegal oil trafficking across its borders; asks the EU to enhance its capacity to exchange information and to cooperate closely with the Turkish authorities in this matter in order to give further support to combating smuggling networks; notes shortcomings in the arrest of foreign fighters and in controlling borders with Iraq and Syria;

Or. en

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Amendment 13 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 37

Motion for a resolution –  Amendment

  1. Supports a renewed political engagement between the EU and Turkey on geopolitical challenges, in particular the refugee and migration crisis; acknowledges Turkey’s great humanitarian contribution in hosting the largest refugee population in the world; urges the EU and Turkey to join forces in improving and ensuring decent living conditions and basic capacities of refugee camps and to facilitate the work of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in order to avoid the massive exodus of migrants; urges the EU to continue to work with Turkish government officials to ensure correct documentation of migrants; recalls that Turkey is one of the key transit countries for migrants and refugees traveling to the EU, not just from Syria but from many other countries; stresses the importance of cooperating with Turkey in managing the refugee crisis and preventing losses of life at sea;
  2. Notes that Turkey has done very little to combat illegal immigration and human trafficking from its shores and other borders to Greece and Bulgaria; condemns the fact that it has actually used the massive illegal immigration flow as a blackmailing technique;

Or. en

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11.4.2016 B8-0442/14 – Amendment 14

Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri – on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs  2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 38

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Welcomes the activation, on 29 November 2015, of the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan on refugees and migration management, as part of a comprehensive cooperation agenda based on shared responsibility, mutual commitments and delivery, and insists on the need to implement it immediately; emphasises that EU-Turkey cooperation on migration should not be linked to the calendar, content and conditionality of the negotiation process; believes that outsourcing the refugee crisis to Turkey is not a credible long-term solution to the problem; calls on EU Member States’ solidarity to increase the number of countries that will accept refugees for resettlement in a spirit of burden and responsibility sharing;
  2. Rejects the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan on refugees and migration management; rejects the outsourcing of the refugee crisis to Turkey; underlines the fact that the Schengen concept and the EU immigration and asylum policy have failed;

Or. en

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EN United in diversity EN – 11.4.2016 B8-0442/15 – Amendment 15

Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 – Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 45

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Encourages the government to fully and in a non-discriminatory manner meet the criteria identified in the visa liberalisation roadmap vis-à-vis all Member States; recalls that visa liberalisation is a merit-based process and that only when the standards have been met, will visa-free travel be possible for Turkish citizens; asks the Commission to provide more technical assistance for the fulfilment of the conditions of the visa liberalisation roadmap;
  2. Rejects the visa liberalisation scheme; points out that this will inevitably lead to even more uncontrolled illegal immigration;

Or. en

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EN United in diversity EN – 11.4.2016 B8-0442/16

Amendment 16 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016

Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution Paragraph 46

Motion for a resolution Amendment

  1. Praises the considerable progress achieved in the Cyprus reunification talks, under the auspices of the UN; welcomes the joint declaration of 11 February 2014 by the two leaders as a basis for a settlement; supports the evolvement of the Republic of Cyprus into a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with single sovereignty, a single international personality and single citizenship with political equality between the two communities and equal opportunities for all its citizens, without prejudging the final agreement, and in line with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international law; commends the constructive approach of the leaders of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities on the island, and their determination and tireless efforts to reach a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement as soon as possible; underlines the importance of the solution of the decades-long Cyprus problem for the whole region, and for Europe/the European Union; welcomes therefore the possibility of a new referendum on reunification and calls on all parties to contribute to a positive outcome;
  2. Is opposed to the creation of a new Cypriot state that would undermine the legitimacy of the Republic of Cyprus, a Member State of the EU;

Or. en

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Amendment 17 – Mario Borghezio on behalf of the ENF Group

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 52 – Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Welcomes the initiative of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, to make Turkish an official language of the EU, and urges the parties to accelerate this process; notes that the implementation of the EU acquis in the future Turkish Cypriot Constituent State upon entry into force of the settlement agreement must already be well prepared; welcomes, in this connection, the establishment of the bi-communal ad hoc committee on EU preparation; encourages both the European Parliament and the Commission to intensify their efforts to engage with Turkish Cypriots in preparation to fully integrate into the EU; encourages the President of the European Parliament to take the necessary steps in the event of a settlement;
  2. Rejects the initiative of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, to make Turkish an official language of the EU; Or. En

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EN United in diversity EN – 11.4.2016 B8-0442/18

Amendment 18

Arnaud Danjean, Alain Lamassoure, Michel Dantin, Michèle Alliot-Marie and others

Motion for a resolution B8-0442/2016 Kati Piri on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 2015 report on Turkey

Motion for a resolution – Paragraph 2

Motion for a resolution – Amendment

  1. Underlines that Turkey is a key strategic partner for the EU and that active and credible negotiations would provide a suitable framework for exploiting the full potential of EU-Turkey relations; takes note of the reinvigoration of the negotiation process by the EU and hopes that the opening of chapters will lead to concrete progress; calls, in this connection, for concrete progress and a genuine commitment on Turkey’s part; reiterates its call on the Commission to reassess the way in which negotiations have been conducted so far and how EU-Turkey relations and cooperation could be improved and intensified; strongly supports a structured, more frequent and open high-level political dialogue on key thematic issues of joint interest such as migration, counter-terrorism, energy, economy and trade;
  2. Underlines that Turkey is a key strategic partner for the EU and that active and credible negotiations would provide a suitable framework for exploiting the full potential of EU-Turkey relations; calls, in this connection, for concrete progress and a genuine commitment on Turkey’s part; reiterates its call on the Commission to reassess the way in which negotiations have been conducted so far and how EU-Turkey relations and cooperation could be improved and intensified; strongly supports a structured, more frequent and open high-level political dialogue on key thematic issues of joint interest such as migration, counter-terrorism, energy, economy and trade;

Or. En

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