| TÜRKİYE-AB KARMA İSTİŞARE KOMİTESİ (KİK) |
|
JOINT DECLARATION BY THE CO-CHAIRS MR. JAN OLSSON AND MR. SÜLEYMAN ÇELEBİ, AT THE TWENTIETH MEETING OF THE EU – TURKEY JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE. |
Mr Olli REHN, Commissioner for Enlargement; Mr Aydin DUMANOĞLU and Mr Joost LAGENDIJK, chairs of the Turkish and EU delegations to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee; Mr Dimitrios DIMITRIADIS, Vice-President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Mr Roger KALIFF, member of the Committee of the Regions; H.E. the Ambassador Mustafa DEMİRALP, head of the Turkish mission to the EU; Mr Giles PORTMAN, UK Permanent Representation for the Presidency of the European Union; and Mr Martin HARVEY, head of the Turkey team at the European Commission’s DG Enlargement participated in this celebration of the 10th anniversary of the EU-Turkey JCC. Their contributions covered a wide range of issues relating to the negotiations and provoked a lively debate.
The EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee was established in November 1995 under the EU-Turkey Association Agreement, at the initiative of the EESC. During the ten years of its existence, it has promoted interaction between organised civil society in the EU and Turkey. Regardless of tensions or disagreements at the political level, the EU-Turkey JCC has always been a determined advocate of regular and meaningful dialogue between the representatives of organised civil society in the EU and Turkey. Mutual knowledge of each others' culture, history, customs and values has been enhanced as a result of the activities of the JCC.
Now more than ever, with the start of negotiations for Turkey’s accession to the EU, it is essential to promote dialogue and cooperation between economic and social interest groups in the EU and those in Turkey; the JCC is working hard to achieve this goal. It is important to provide economic and social interest groups in Turkey with relevant information on developments in the accession negotiations and the economic and social aspects involved, as well as on the EU's institutions and professional organisations. The JCC enables Turkish representatives to become acquainted with the process of consultation taking place within the European Union and more generally with the dialogue between social and civil partners in the EU. The JCC will continue to foster public debate and awareness in Turkey about EU membership rights and obligations. It will work ceaselessly to facilitate the process of institution-building and the consolidation of civil society organisations in Turkey. The JCC continues to be an instrument enabling EU citizens to familiarise themselves with social structures and the economic and social impact of reforms in Turkey.
The JCC notes the enlargement package presented by the European Commission on 9 November 2005, with particular reference to the progress report on Turkey and the revised version of the accession partnership for Turkey. The JCC welcomes Turkey’s progress as regards the adoption of the Community acquis and is pleased to learn that the Commision considers Turkey to be a functioning market economy. It acknowledges that structural reforms have been carried out in the political and legal spheres and calls for the proper implementation of the reforms adopted in the spirit of shared democratic values, the rule of law and human rights.
The JCC welcomes that both the EU and the Turkish government recognise the important role that the JCC can play in monitoring the negotiating process. It also acknowledges the fact that the Turkish government has fully accepted the involvement of civil society in the negotiations and in particular the role of the Turkish delegation of the JCC.
The JCC asks the EU to pay more attention to the issue of Turkey's economic and social development. The JCC would like the European Commission and the Turkish Government to take into account the social aspects of all chapters of negotiations to be opened. In this context it requests that priority be given to the discussions on the chapter dealing with social policy and employment.
As agreed, the JCC pursued its discussion on trade union rights and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions. Ensuring trade union rights in accordance with the ILO Conventions and EU documents, particularly the last progress report regarding Turkey's accession, is an important priority to be fulfilled by Turkey.
The JCC highly values its regular dialogue with the Minister of Labour and Social Security of Turkey. The JCC has observed that there continue to be significant constraints concerning the right to organise and the right to collective bargaining. The JCC is informed that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has submitted a new draft law for trade unions, which is welcomed. The JCC hopes that a new draft law on collectivebargaining, strikes and lock-out will also be finalised.
The JCC decided to continue to monitor the evolution of Social Rights in Turkey with the expectation that both drafts will rapidly be adopted after consultation with the social partners. The JCC will examine the results in detail at its next meeting.
The JCC noted that a new draft law on the reform of the Turkish Economic and Social Council has been prepared with representatives of organised civil society. The JCC is pleased that this draft legislation gives an enhanced role and a better representation to civil society representatives in the Council and limits the role of government. The JCC urged the Turkish Government and the Turkish Great National Assembly to adopt the draft law without further delay.
The JCC has already welcomed the adoption of a new Law on Associations which is beneficial to associations. Nevertheless, the JCC reiterates its concerns about the implementing rules for this law and any restrictions on the registration of associations that may be imposed. The JCC notes that the Commission's 2005 Progress Report states "In pratice, this means that, in contravention of Article 11 ECHR (freedom of assembly and association) associations whose objective includes promoting a certain cultural identity or a particular religion still not be able to register. Indeed, there have already been reports of such associations encoutering difficulties when seeking to register officialy". However the Turkish government has not yet reacted to this report. The JCC will have a in-depth debate on this issue at a later meeting.
The JCC has already expressed its desire to play an active role in implementing the Commission Communication on Civil society dialogue between the EU and candidate countries. The JCC supports the recommendations made by the EESC in Opinion No.1264/2005 adopted in October 2005 concerning this Communication. The JCC feels strongly that:
cultural interaction and the benefits of the acquis should not be limited to Istanbul, Ankara and the main Turkish cities, but extended to provinces and rural areas as well;
civil society organisations should have a key role in planning and conducting the information campaign on Turkey's EU membership;
the procedures to obtain the necessary EU funding must be simplified as far as possible and made clear to civil society representatives;
the EC delegation in Turkey can contribute greatly by holding practical and structured dialogue between various sectors of civil society in Turkey and between Turkey and the EU;
The Turkish government, guided by the provisions of the Community acquis, should improve legislation on organisations and remove the obstacles hampering the development of NGOs;
women should be sufficiently involved in cooperation activities and appropriately represented in fora for dialogue and action programmes;
various Turkish organisations should be supported so that they may become members of European and international organisations in their respective sectors;
Turkey's participation in education and training programmes should be encouraged - graduate traineeships, under a suitably enhanced Erasmus programme, could be an opportunity for students from different countries to get to know and respect one another;
much of the paperwork required by the Turkish ministries when Turkish businesses and other economic players decide to hold events in the EU could be reduced or eliminated altogether;
all efforts should be directed at ensuring that the largest possible number of Europeans become acquainted with Turkey and the Turkish people with Europe.
Strengthening dialogue and cooperation between civil society players in the EU and Turkey hinges on frequent contact, exchanges and regular visits. Therefore, the EU must make visas more readily available for organised civil society representatives, including the business community, trade unions, universities, culture and arts organisations and the media, involved in activities connected to civil or social dialogue. To contribute to that process, the JCC will do an analysis of the existing visa procedures contacting all the responsible authorities and will, at its next meeting, make concrete proposals. The JCC will engage a dialogue with the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on that matter. The JCC also believes that Turkey must reconsider the merits of the exit tax which currently inhibits dialogue between civil societies.
The JCC considers that Turkey is confronted with significant challenges and opportunities in the sphere of rural development, especially as regards bringing its policies into line with the Community acquis. Rural Turkey must change during the accession negotiations and endeavour, as the EU is endeavouring, to find a balance between economic, social, environmental and in particular sustainable development.
Rural development policy has an essential role to play in promoting the viability of rural areas and rural communities on which a healthy agricultural sector depends. The JCC considers that competitiveness should not be seen purely as a matter of price, but rather as a combination of price, environment, food safety, animal welfare and rural viability. It stresses the need for investment in knowledge and innovation to deliver sustainable development in rural areas.
The JCC has decided to draw up a joint contribution at its next meeting in order to formulate practical recommendations for the discussions on Chapter 11, which deals with agriculture and rural development.