The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

The text adopted in plenary had been tabled as a joint resolution by the PPE, S&D, ECR, ALDE, GUE/NGL, Verts/ALE and EFDD groups.

On the eve of the centenary. Parliament paid tribute, to the memory of the innocent Armenian victims, numbering one-and-a-half million, who perished in the Ottoman Empire. Joining the commemoration, Parliament called on the Commission and the Council to join in.

Members welcomed the statements by the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu, offering condolences and recognising atrocities against the Ottoman Armenians as a step in the right direction. They encouraged Turkey to use the commemoration to continue its efforts to come to terms with its past, notably by the opening of the archives, and thus to pave the way for a genuine reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian peoples.

Parliament also welcomed the message of His Holiness the Pope François, of 12 April 2015, which commemorates the centenary of the Armenian genocide in a spirit of peace and reconciliation.

Turkey was called on to respect and realise fully the obligations which it has undertaken to the protection of cultural heritage and, in particular, to conduct in good faith an integrated inventory of Armenian and other cultural heritage destroyed or ruined during the past century within its jurisdiction.

Parliament urged Turkey and Armenia to normalise their relations by ratifying and implementing, without preconditions, the protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations, by opening the border and by actively improving their relations, with particular reference to cross-border cooperation and economic integration.

The resolution stressed that the timely prevention and effective punishment of genocides and crimes against humanity should be among the main priorities of the international community and the European Union. In this spirit, Parliament proposed that an International Remembrance Day for Genocides be established, in order to recall again the right of all peoples and all nations throughout the world to peace and dignity.