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Commissioner Responsible for Employment and Social Affairs AB Komisyonu İstihdam ve Sosyal İşlerden Sorumlu Komiser It is indeed the Turkish Civil Society Platform that has played an important role in accelerating the adoption process of 3 August 2002 reform package. It is also this Platform, consisting of over 200 NGOs representing different segments of civil society, that has displayed a strong political will for EU membership. I would like to recall at this juncture that Europe is first and foremost anissue for the citizens and therefore the Commission pays an extreme attention to the attitude of the citizens with regard to the perspective of the European Integration both within the member states and within the applicant countries. With the new century now beginning, Europe must rise to the challenge of a new culture of peace, and developing a new and efficient model of governance based on democracy, dialogue, participation and partnership and the necessary exchange of views on all society levels with the active involvement of the major civil players. The Union as it stands today is not only a Union of Member States but also a Union of social partners, NGOs private and public authorities and citizens who have to co-operate in a spirit of goodwill partnership. This is the reason why the Commission has attributed more and more importance to the discussion on the European governance and the role of the civil society in this respect. The Treaty on European Union says in Article 49 that "any European State which respects the principles set out in Article 6(1) may apply to become a member of the Union". Article 6(1) states that "the Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States." The European Union has not defined its limits in geographical terms, but every applicant country has to meet the fundamental conditions laid down by the European Council in Copenhagen: democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and protection of minorities, a functioning market economy with the capacity to withstand competitive pressure in the EU, and the ability to take on the obligations of membership. Meeting the accession criteria and then preparing for accession requires a lot of efforts. These efforts cannot be successfully made and concluded without the prior mobilisation and active participation of citizens. The Commission's report on Turkey's progress in preparing for accession applied the same approach and criteria as for all the other candidate countries. The report presents an objective assessment of the state of play. It notes the progress made by Turkey but by the same token it also points out the shortcomings. It will be up to the Copenhagen European Council to take a decision on the way ahead. The Commission, for its part, has already pledged to offer an enhanced pre-accession package in 2003 with more money. The prospect of accession has already pushed Turkey to modernise. We must continue to provide the stimulus that can only benefit the country and its chances of accession. The Union has on many occasions welcomed the important steps taken by Turkey towards meeting the Copenhagen political and economic criteria and alignment with the "acquis". The Commission at this stage continues to sincerely encourage Turkey to pursue its reform process and to take further concrete steps in the direction of implementation, which will advance Turkey's accession in accordance with the same principles and criteria as are applied to the other candidate States. What is our common target today is to build a strong Europe of peace and human rights. A Europe of social rights and employment. A Europe of wealth, competitiveness and growth. A Europe where there is no discrimination on the grounds of sex, age, disability, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief and sexual orientation. A Europe of diversity of cultures, historical traditions and living together. A Europe that can look at its the southern and eastern part with solidarity. A Europe that can offer a model of effective governance that may be the most important contribution towards the complex challenges of our century. This means that no one is ignored or denied. In fact, the extraordinary richness of the European project derives from this diversity. Turkey is on the right track. But the effort still has to be continued. We stand by your side in this historic moment of changes in contemporary history, hoping that very soon everything will be in place to allow the beginning of a new era for Turkey and its relation with the EU. We want Turkey with us and the EU is ready to support Turkish strenuous efforts towards its European integration.The biggest challenge for both my country and Turkey is that the Balkans become an integral part of the European integration process. In this context, therefore, I would like to see our two countries, Greece and Turkey, becoming, as soon as possible, the driving forces for peace and stability in the area. AB Komisyonu İstihdam ve Sosyal İşler'den Sorumlu Komiser Anna DIAMANTOPOULOU, sivil toplumun farklı kesimlerini temsilen 200 STK'dan oluşan Türk Sivil Toplum Platformu'nun, 3.08.2002 tarihli reform paketinin kabul sürecindeki hızlandırıcı rolünü vurguladı. Avrupa'nın, 21.yüzyıla, yeni bir barış kültürüne ve toplumun her kesimiyle fikir alışverişine dayanan, demokratik ve katılımcı yeni bir yönetim anlayışıyla girmesi gerektiğini belirtti. Ayrıca AB'nin mevcut haliyle, üye devletlerin olduğu kadar, kamusal makamların, STK'ların ve yurttaşların da birliği olduğu için Avrupa yönetimlerinin tartışmaya açılması ve sivil toplumun rolü önem kazanmaktadır. AB'ye katılım kriterlerinin başarıyla yerine getirilmesi, öncelikle yurttaşların etkin katılımına ve seferberliğine dayalıdır. Komisyon, Türkiye'nin uyum sürecine ilişkin raporunda diğer aday ülkeler için geçerli olan yaklaşım ve kriterler çerçevesinde, ilerlemelerin yanı sıra eksiklikleri de belirtmiştir. Çağdaşlaşma yolunda ilerleyen Türkiye'nin diğer aday devletlere uygulanan kriterler gereği atacağı ileriye dönük somut adımların desteklenecektir. DIAMANTOPOULOU barışın, insan haklarının ve sosyal hakların hakim olduğu, işsizliğin ve her tür ayrımcılığın sona erdiği, farklı kültürlerin birarada yaşadığı, rekabetçi ve gelişen bir Avrupa'nın bugünün ortak hedefi olduğunu belirtti. Ayrıca Türkiye'nin Avrupa'yla bütünleşme çabalarına verilen desteğin AB tarafından Kophenag'da bir kez daha vurgulanacağını ifade etti. Türkiye ve Yunanistan'ı en kısa zamanda Balkanlar'da barış ve istikrarın itici gücü olarak görme dileğiyle sözlerini bitirdi. |