a
what was at stake
b
green position
c
what we achieved
d
what we did not achieve

EU accession negociations with Turkey

Negotiations on Turkey's accession to the European Union have come to a halt for two main reasons: firstly, France - and especially Cyprus - have blocked the opening of almost one third of the negotiating chapters; secondly, EU accession is no longer a main incentive for political reform in Turkey.

At the same time, Turkey is in the middle of a constitutional reform.

The European Commission is trying to use this opportunity to negotiate certain key democratisation issues, even though they are part of the blocked chapters.

 

What was the Greens' position?

The Greens believe the EU should support democratisation in Turkey and insist that the country should fully respect fundamental rights.

We also think that any EU-internal debate on whether or not Turkey should accede to the Union will be misplaced until it has fulfilled all the accession criteria.

Until then, the focus should be on fostering reforms in Turkey.

 

Did other MEPs accept the Greens' position?

The Greens succeeded in convincing Parliament to demand a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem, including the entitlement to be educated in Kurdish.

We also managed to introduce calls for the respecting of LGBT rights and demand better cooperation with respect to visa policies.

Thanks to our amendments, Parliament is calling on Cyprus to drop its veto on the chapter including justice and fundamental rights issues, namely chapters 23 and 24.

 

Which points did the Greens lose?

The Greens were unable to include amendments on the ecological consequences of economic growth in Turkey because the Conservative EPP and parts of some other parliamentary groups rejected our amendment.

Also, we were alone in demanding that negotiations be conducted "with the aim of accession".

Reference(s)
Committee:AFET

Procedure:Resolutions on topical subjects

Reference(s):2011/2889(RSP)

Voted:29/03/2012

Staff contact:Ali Yurttagül (Email)

Outcome of the vote
Below you find the results of the final vote in plenary. How did the political groups vote? What about national delegations? And what was the position of your MEP?