Activities of Takis HADJIGEORGIOU related to 2018/2150(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
2018 Report on Turkey (debate) EL
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the 2018 Commission Report on Turkey PDF (170 KB) DOC (65 KB)
Amendments (26)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
— having regard to its previous resolutions on Turkey, in particular those of 24 November 2016 on EU-Turkey relations1 , of 27 October 2016 on the situation of journalists in Turkey2 , and of 8 February 2018 on the human rights situation in Turkey3 and to its previous resolution of 13 November 2014 on Turkish actions creating tensions in the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus, _________________ 1 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0450. 2 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0423. 3 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0040.
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 15 April 2015 on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
— having regard to the Negotiating Framework for Turkey of 3 October 2005 and to the fact that Turkey’s accession to the EU depends on full compliance with the Copenhagen criteria,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the mission report on the Fact-finding Visit to Famagusta, Cyprus adopted on 21/11/18 by the Committee of Petitions,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9
Citation 9
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20
Citation 20
— having regard to the fact that respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights, including the separation of powers, democracy, freedom of expression and media, human rights, the rights of minorities and religious freedom, and freedom of association and the right to peaceful protest,, including the property rights of all non-Muslim religious minorities, good neighbourly relations, the rights of women and children, the fight against corruption and organised crime, religious freedom, and freedom of association and the right to peaceful protest, the fight against racism and discrimination against vulnerable groups such as the Roma, disabled persons, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons are at the core of the negotiation process,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
- whereas Turkey has committed itself to the fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria, adequate and effective reforms, good neighbourly relations and progressive alignment with the EU; whereas these efforts should have been viewed as an opportunity for Turkey to strengthen its institutions and continue its process of democratization and modernization; whereas there has been a stark regression in the areas of rule of law, human rights and good neighbourly relations during the last few years;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. EReiterates the importance of media freedom and independence as one of the core EU values and a cornerstone of any democracy; expresses serious concern about the disproportionate and arbitrary measures curtailing freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information; regrets in this context that in the last World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders the country has ranked 157th out of 180 countries, while according to Freedom House 2018 report on the country's Press Freedom, the country's status remains "Not Free"; condemns the closure of more than 160 media outlets and the largehigh number of arrests of journalists arrested in the aftermath of the coup attempt; urges Turkey to guarantee media freedom as a matter of priority and to immediately release and acquit all unlawfully detained journalists; calls upon the Turkish authorities to demonstrate zero tolerance towards all incidents of physical and verbal abuse or threats against journalists;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses serious concern about the disproportionate and arbitrary measures curtailing freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information; condemns the closure of more than 160 media outlets and the large number of arrests of journalists in the aftermath of the coup attempt, where increasing restrictions were put in place on the rights of journalists and human rights defenders working on the Kurdish issue while other associations and Kurdish-language media outlets were closed; urges Turkey to guarantee media freedom as a matter of priority and to immediately release and acquit all unlawfully detained journalists;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Expresses serious concern at the blocking of access to social networks and the Internet, including the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which has been occurring repeatedly since 29 April 2017;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Expresses concern at the shrinking space for civil society and the promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms; notes that a large number of activists, including human rights defenders, were arrested and demonstrations were recurrently banned during the state of emergency; calls on Turkey to protect the fundamental rights of minorities, such as LGBTI people; reminds that legislation on hate speech is not in line with European Court of Human Rights case-law;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 6 – point 1 (new)
(1) Deplores the fact that the Venice Commission recommendations on the status of religious communities in Turkey and the right of the Orthodox Patriarch to use the title “ecumenical” have yet to be implemented and that the Halki (Heybeliada) Greek Orthodox Seminary remains closed. Furthermore, regrets the fact that the Council of Europe Resolution 1625 (2008) regarding the islands of Gökçeada (Imvros) and Bozcaada (Tenedos) isn’t fully implemented yet and that the electoral regulation for non Muslim foundations is still not published after its annulment in 2013;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is deeply concerned at the situation in Turkey’s South-East and the serious allegations of human rights abuses, especially since the collapse of the Kurdish settlement process in 2015; reiterates its firm condemnation of the return to violence by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been on the EU list of terrorist organisations since 2002stresses that the inclusion of PKK on the EU's list of terrorist organisations is standing in the way of the establishment of peace, dialogue and negotiations, at the same time that facilitates the infringement of human rights; calls therefore on the Council to revise the list and remove the PKK from the list of terrorist organisations; calls on the Turkish authorities to restart talks with PKK leaders for a peaceful solution for the Kurdish question; stresses the urgency of resuming a credible political process leading to a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue; calls on Turkey to promptly investigate serious allegations of human rights abuses and killings and to allow international observers to carry out an independent verification;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls on the Turkish government to immediately end the repeated violations of Greek airspace and territorial waters, as well as Turkish military aircraft flights over Greek islands, in accordance with the principle of good neighbourly relations which constitute a fundamental part of the Negotiating Framework and an essential element of the Enlargement Process; condemns in the strongest possible terms the fact that the casus belli threat declared by the Turkish Grand National Assembly against Greece in 1995, has not yet been withdrawn;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the state of emergency further constrained the capacity of the Grand National Assembly to fulfil its fundamental role of democratic scrutiny and accountability; notes with great concern the arrest of two members of parliament from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), as well as the way the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) has been particularly marginalised, with many HDP lawmakers being arrested on the grounds of alleged support for terrorist activities; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners held without proof of individual involvement in committing crime or without any charges presented against them;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the state of emergency further constrained the capacity of the Grand National Assembly to fulfil its fundamental role of democratic scrutiny and accountability; notes with great concern the arrest of two members of parliament from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), as well as the waynine members of parliament from the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and how the latter has been particularly marginalised, with many HDP lawmakers being arrested on the grounds of alleged support for terrorist activities;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Condemns the continued arrest of Selahattin Demirtas, opposition leader and presidential candidate; pledges to continue to follow his case very closely and calls for his immediate and unconditional release; expects the European Court of Human Rights to deliver without delay its final judgement in the casnotes the judgment handed down on 20 November 2018 in which the European Court of Human Rights ordered the immediate release of Selahattin Demirtas and found that the right to free elections (ECHR, Protocol No 1, Article 3), the right to be brought promptly before a judge (Article 5(3) ECHR), and the limitation on use of restrictions on rights (Article 18 ECHR) had not been observed and that his pre-trial detention had stifled pluralism and freedom of political debate;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Condemns the continued arrest of Selahattin Demirtas, opposition leader and presidential candidate; pledges to continue to follow his case very closely and calls for his immediate and unconditional release; expects the European Court of Human Rights to deliver without delay its final judgementTurkey to respect the recent final judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the case;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that while the EU accession process was at its start a strong motivation for reforms in Turkey, there has been a stark regression in the areas of the rule of law and human rights during the last few years; recalls that Parliament repeatedly called for the opening of Chapter 23 on Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and Chapter 24 on Justice, Freedom and Security at a time when the Turkish government had pledged to conduct serious reforms; regrets deeply that the accession instruments could not be used to the fullest extent owing to a continued blockage by the Council;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that a door should be left open for the modernisation and upgrading of the 1995 Customs Union between the EU and Turkey, to include relevant areas such as agriculture, services and public procurement, which currently are not covered; recalls that two thirds of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Turkey comes from EU Member States and that Turkey is an important growth market for the EU; believes that thec believes that the upgrade can be contemplated provided that Turkey proceeds first to the full and indiscriminate implementation of its obligations deriving from the current Customs Union Agreement between EU- Turkey. Following this, its upgrade wcould provide a valuable opportunity for democratic conditionality, positive leverage and the possibility of a roadmap where upgrading the Ccustoms Uunion would go hand in hand with concrete commitments by Turkey on democratic reforms reinforcing the full compliance of the Copenhagen criteria; believes further that the upgrading of the Ccustoms Uunion would provide an important opportunity for policy dialogue on climate change as well as on labour rights in Turkey; calls on the Commission to start preparatory work for the upgrading of the Customs Union as soon as the Turkish Government indicates its readiness for serious reforms;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Deplores Turkey´s refusal to fulfil its obligation of full, non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the EC-Turkey Association Agreement vis-à-vis all member states, the Republic of Cyprus in particular; reiterates that Turkey's refusal to normalize its relations with all EU Member States has started having a negative impact on its relations with the EU, including its accession process;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that visa liberalisation is of great importance for Turkish citizens, particularly for students, academics, business representatives and people with family ties in EU Member States; encourages the Turkish Government to fully comply with the 72 criteria identified in the visa liberalisation roadmap; stresses that the revision of Turkey’s anti-terrorism legislation is a key condition for ensuring fundamental rights and freedoms, and that visa liberalisation will be possible once all the criteria have been met fully and in a non-discriminatory manner towards all EU Member States;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls the important role played by Turkey in responding to the migration crisis resulting from the war in Syria; takes the view that Turkey’s population has shown great hospitality by offering shelter to more than 3 million Syrian refugees; notes that the number of arrivals to the European Union from Turkey has significantly risen in 2018 compared to last year; calls on the EU and its Member States to keep their promise regarding a large-scale resettlement, and to ensure adequate financial resources for the long- term support of Syrian refugees in Turkey;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls upon the Turkish government to halt its plans for the construction of the Akkuyuy nuclear power plant; points out that the envisaged site is located in a region prone to severe earthquakes, hence posing a major threat not only to Turkey but to the Mediterranean region as a whole; requests accordingly that the Turkish government join the Espoo Convention, which commits parties to notifying and consulting each other on major projects under consideration that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries; asks the Turkish government to involve, or at least consult, the governments of its neighbouring countries, such as Greece and Cyprus, during any further developments in the Akkuyuy venture;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the efforts by the UN to resume negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus; supports a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement upon agreement on terms of reference within the framework of the long agreed solution of bicommunal bizonal federation with political equality, as this is set out in relevant UN SC resolutions; recalls the Framework of the UN Secretary General and his appeal for resuming the negotiations from where things were left off at Crans Montana; supports a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement which must guarantee the single sovereignty, the single international legal personality and the single citizenship of the united federal Cyprus and be in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, international law and the EU acquis; reiterates its call on Turkey to commit and contribute to a comprehensive settlement, to begin withdrawing its troops from Cyprus, to transfer the sealed-off area of Famagusta to the UN, and to refrain from actions altering the demographic balance on the island; praises the important work of the Committee on Missing Persons; recognises the right of the Republic of Cyprus to enter into bilateral agreements concerning its exclusive economic zone; urges Turkey to engage in the peaceful settlement of dispuits lawful inhabitants in accordance with UNSC Resolution 550(1984) and to allow access to experts to explore and evaluate the situation of the city; it also urges Turkey to refrain from actions altering the demographic balance on the island contrary to the Geneva Convention and the principles of international law. It praises the important work of the Committee on Missing Persons and calls on Turkey to allow access to all relevant sites and military zones for exhumation and assist the CMP to the discovery of relocated and other remains by providing all relevant information from its military archives; recognises the right of the Republic of Cyprus to enter into bilateral agreements concerning its exclusive economic zone and condemns all the provoking actions of Turkey within the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus which are a source of instability and calls on Turkey to terminate them; urges Turkey to respect the sovereign rights of all EU Member States, and to refrain from any threat or action which might have negative effects on good neighbourly relations while at the same time respecting the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Calls on Turkey to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which has been signed and ratified by the EU, the 28 Member States and all other candidate countries and forms part of the acquis in line with December 2015 Council Conclusions and other relevant Council Conclusions;