Cautious first steps” “

The final word on the opening of negotiations on Turkey’s membership of the EU is left to the Council of the heads of state and of government meeting in Brussels on Friday 17 December. But the political leaders of the 25 cannot fail to carefully evaluate the positive view already expressed by the other EU institutions: the Commission (which said “yes” in early October) and the European Parliament, which voted in favour of opening negotiations with Turkey during its plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, 15 December. A LONG PROCESS, WITH NO FOREGONE CONCLUSIONS. “Membership negotiations should be opened immediately with Turkey”, while at the same time “monitoring the progress that this country must make on the road to democracy, and respect for human rights and minorities”. The European Parliament, meeting in plenary assembly in the French city, expressed in these terms its view on the process of rapprochement between the EU and Turkey. MEPs voted by a large majority in favour (407 yes, 262 no, 29 abstentions), isolating the positions of the conservatives and eurosceptics of various countries. The Resolution approved does not per se have any binding value for the European Council; but the political position expressed by the EP, representing the 450 million citizens of the EU, seems clear: an indication that the summit in Brussels cannot ignore. The Resolution, drafted by the Dutch MEP CAMIEL EURLINGS, insists on the problems that Ankara will have to resolve in terms of respect for the rule of law, minorities (including the Kurds), personal liberties and freedom of worship. The Resolution also draws attention to the situation in Cyprus, the torture still practised in some Turkish prisons and the anomalous relation between armed forces and parliamentary democracy. “The chamber has clearly said that the negotiations should begin without undue delays – explained the President of the EP, the Spaniard JOSEP BORRELL -. It will be a long process, but it must begin as soon as possible. MEPs rejected an eventual ‘plan B’, envisaging a special partnership with Ankara as an alternative to membership negotiations”. It goes without saying that “the negotiations can be interrupted if Turkey fails to comply with the reforms requested by the EU”. CONTINUING ALONG THE ROAD OF REFORMS. The summit in Brussels was preceded by a heated debate among European institutions and by various official reactions of Ankara. Turkish premier RECEP TAYYP ERDOGAN made it repeatedly known that his country “is not interested in any proposals other than the start of negotiations”, that “it will not accept impositions on the Cypriot question” and that “in the event of new obstacles, it will do without Europe”, while continuing just the same along the road of modernization. Even if the Council gives the go ahead, the negotiations will require many years and will not be concluded – as the EP also admitted – prior to the definition of the financial prospects for the period from 2014 on. For its part, the Parliament welcomed “Turkey’s process of political reform and the constitutional and legislative changes that have come into force in that country”, though at the same time pointing out that “the Turkish authorities will have to implement further reforms” to respect the Copenhagen criteria imposed by the EU on candidate countries. EUROPASS, TO SEEK AND FIND WORK ABROAD. The EP, bearing in mind its “dual role” of political assembly and legislative organ, discussed various other issues during its plenary session. The 732 MEPs voted on the EU budget for 2005, discussed various questions of foreign policy, and adopted a report by the English MEP JEAN DENISE LAMBERT for a common European asylum regime. Decisions were also taken on how to combat pesticides in food and how to tackle organized crime connected with car theft (1,200,000 cars are annually stolen in the EU). The recommendation drawn up by the German MEP LJUDMILA NOVAK on “transparency of professional qualifications and skills”, which will come into force on 1st January 2005, is particularly important for the immediate effects it will have on everyday life in the EU. The project, called Europass, “is aimed at the creation of a uniform pool of documents that will permit citizens to describe their abilities, skills and qualifications in an understandable, coherent and transparent way at the international level, when they present themselves as candidates for a job in their country of origin or abroad”.