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Draft Minutes EU-TURKEY JOINT PARLAMENTARY COMMITTEE 74th Meeting 10-11 April 2014 European Parliament Brussels DRAFT MINUTES Thursday, 10 April 09.00 -12.30 Ms Hélène FLAUTRE, Co-Chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in the Chair Opening remarks The meeting opened on Thursday, 10 April 2014 at 9.00, with Ms Hélène FLAUTRE, Co-Chair of the European Union-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (EU- Turkey JPC) in the Chair. Ms FLAUTRE welcomed the participants of the meeting and made a short introduction on the latest developments in the EU-Turkey relations, drawing particular attention to widespread concerns in the European Parliament (EP) about the directions the Turkish Government was taking and its attitude towards the European norms in the democratisation process. Following this short introduction Ms FLAUTRE gave the floor to Mr Afif DEMIRKIRAN, Co-Chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) who made his opening remarks and expressed his optimism that relations between the two parliaments will be no less constructive and could be even strengthened in the next legislature. 1. Adoption of the draft agenda. It was agreed to start with the first working session and to discuss the draft agenda after the presentations on the EU-Turkey relations. 2. EU-Turkey relations and the state of play of the accession negotiations Mr Stefan FÜLE, European Commissioner for Enlargement started his intervention by emphasising that the timing was perfect for an exchange of views on this subject. The Commissioner noted a renewed momentum in the EU-Turkey relations (opening of Chapter 22, signing of the readmission agreement and developments in the dialogue on visa liberalisation, enhanced energy cooperation, trade relations and the strategic dialogue and cooperation in foreign policy), which lasted until the end of 2013. He regretted, however, that after December 2013 more and more developments in Turkey became a cause of concern to its European partners, namely the new legislation concerning the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which reversed the reforms made in consultation with the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe, massive dismissals and transfers of policemen, judges and prosecutors, which posed questions on the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, and the situation concerning the freedom of media. All these developments will have to be reflected in the next Progress Report; moreover the Commissioner expressed the view that in order to avoid further causes for concern or misunderstandings, both the EU and Turkey must change the way in which they cooperate. The EU and Turkey must intensify their dialogue on all areas of law making, which are essential for accession, and particularly the enhanced cooperation on rule of law and fundamental rights would help to prevent what seems to be the biggest obstacle for close EU-Turkey relations, he stated. Ambassador Theodoros SOTIROPOULOS, Permanent Representative of the Hellenic Republic to the EU, on behalf of the Presidency-in-Office of the Council of the EU, agreed with Commissioner Füle that the JPC was held at the key point in time. He underlined that Council saw Turkey as a key partner and that the EU was determined to reach progress in negotiations, if Turkey met the requirements and respected the contractual obligations. He identified the main areas of concerns of the Council regarding Turkey: separation of powers, freedom of expression and independence of judiciary. On the other hand, Mr Sotiropoulos underlined that the EU and Turkey were very successful 2/12 in the field of foreign policy cooperation and noted that the EU expected Turkey to commit unequivocally to good neighbourly relations. Mr Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, on behalf of the Government of Turkey, started his speech by noting that in various committees and subcommittees work was on-going in Turkey even on Chapters that had not been open. He called for the opening of Chapters 23 and 24 as soon as possible and stressed that there was widespread consensus on that - if Turkey was not in line with the EU in these areas, it needed to negotiate these Chapters and align its legislation. Mr Çavuşoğlu acknowledged that regarding the areas of concern - justice, human rights, freedom of expression - Turkey needs to do some work and informed about the 5th reform package, which contained certain modifications to prevent violations of international conventions. In the subsequent debate Ms Ria OOMEN-RUITEN, the EP rapporteur on Turkey, expressed her disenchantment with the latest developments in Turkey and noted that in the last meetings of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and in the Plenary, where the EP resolution was debated, the general atmosphere was very negative, with many MEPs who had always been friends of Turkey taken by surprise by the last moves of the Turkish Government. Ms Oomen-Ruiten underlined that Turkey did not necessarily need the opening of Chapters 23 and 24 in order to advance reforms in these areas - the Copenhagen criteria are known and that's the main reference. In response several Members of the Turkish JPC Delegation regretted that, according to them, double standards were used regarding democracy in Turkey and other countries, while other participants in the debate denounced a crisis in the Turkish Government and its value system. Mr Füle intervened by explaining that he saw two striking elements concerning democracy in Turkey - first, conspiracy theories are widely used as an excuse by the authorities and, second, democracy is understood as a series of elections, where people empower the parties and therefore strong institutions as well as checks and balances system lose their importance. He concluded the debate by agreeing with Mr Çavuşoğlu to have a discussion on how to handle the period before the publication of the next progress report and how to use the potential of the existing working groups in order to resolve the pending issues. Mr İlhan YERLİKAYA, MP, touched upon the issue of freedom of expression. He said that the ban on Twitter has to do with the protection of personal rights, not freedom of 3/12 media or freedom of expression. The state of media freedom and the freedom of expression, he added, is very good. He emphasised that as the former deputy head of the Supreme Board of Radio and Television, he knows that the accessibility of the media platforms have been improved to a great extent in Turkey. Internet is the main platform where everyone can express their thoughts freely according to him. Moreover, he indicated that the number of newspapers went up to 3,500, while the number of TV and radio channels exceeded 1,700. Even a political party, which obtained 0.01 per cent of the votes, could take advantage of these media platforms, he added. In this regard, he disagreed that freedom of expression is restricted in Turkey. He stated that the decision on Twitter was taken, because an international company refused to implement a court judgment in Turkey. Finally, he noted that as soon as the company in question implements the judgment, which has to do with the right to privacy, the ban on Twitter will be lifted. Members participating in the debate: Ms Ria Oomen-Ruiten (MEP), Mr Ali Şahin (MP), Mr Andrew Duff (MEP), Mr Ercan Candan (MP), Mr Aykan Erdemir (MP), Mr Yıldırım Ramazanoğlu (MP), Mr Nazmi Gür (MP), Ms Halide İncekara (MP), Ms Arlene McCarthy (MEP), Mr İlhan Yerlikaya (MP), Ms Şafak Pavey (MP). *** As agreed at the beginning of the meeting, the Draft agenda was discussed at the end of the first working session. On a proposal of the Co-Chairs it was agreed to move all the agenda items to Thursday and therefore cancel the Friday morning session; item 6 on the "EU-Turkey Customs Union, Free Trade Agreements and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership" would be discussed immediately after item 4 "Reform of Judiciary in Turkey, Democratisation and Prospects of Opening Chapters 23 & 24". 3. Approval of the draft minutes of the 73rd EU-Turkey JPC, 5-6 December 2013, Ankara Minutes of the 73rd meeting were approved unchanged. *** 14.30 - 18.30 Mr Afif DEMIRKIRAN, Co-Chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee in the Chair 4/12 4. Reforms of Judiciary in Turkey, Democratisation and Prospects of Opening Chapters 23 & 24 Mr Demirkiran introduced the three speakers from the Turkish Ministry of Justice who would be presenting the reforms in the field of judiciary and democratisation, including the 5th Democratisation package, in the absence of the Minister of Justice Mr Bekir Bozdağ. Dr. Ekrem ÇETİNTÜRK, Deputy Director General of Laws and Resolutions in the Ministry of Justice of Turkey, started with the prospects of opening Chapters 23 and 24 and presented the achievements of the Ministry of Justice (creation of the framework for the Ombudsman, better application of basic rights, regular referral to the ECHR by some courts and on-going work in other areas). Regarding international cooperation he argued that in the area of justice, Turkey is actively participating in EU projects, but Mr Çetintürk acknowledged, that harder work was needed in order to avoid problems with regard to data and information exchange with other EU countries and to ensure efficient international cooperation. Furthermore, he emphasised that the Ministry of Justice works in close cooperation with the Ministry of EU Affairs. Regarding criticism on Turkey vis-à-vis the social media and freedom of expression, Mr Çetintürk claimed that criticism on the latest reforms was a result of disinformation, or at least a misunderstanding and lack of information. Three working meetings have been scheduled starting in May 2014 so that representatives of the Turkish justice system could explain the reforms to the EU partners; Mr Çetintürk presented the Turkish Government's justification for closing Twitter and YouTube.
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