Turkey, Myanmar and China: in today’ session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament is dealing with some topical issues. Firstly, they began with the report of the Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten, who reviewed the current state of the negotiations for the future accession of Ankara to the EU. The debate included many speeches, mostly insisting on the importance "of Turkey’s moving towards the European union", while just a minority were against its accession. Virtually all of the MEPs however pointed out "Turkey’s delays in the reform process that would bring the country closer to Europe", highlighting "full democracy", the protection of human rights, women and minorities as well as its relations with Cyprus. In addition, the report submitted to the floor invites the Turkish Government "to fulfil its promises regarding freedom of religions", by outlining a legislative framework that will enable all religious communities to act "with no undue pressure", especially "in terms of legal status, the training of the clergy, the appointment of the ecclesiastic hierarchy, religious teaching and the building of places of worship". Then the European Parliament will address the situation in Myanmar and China after the recent natural disasters.
