EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT EU-TURKEY JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE 60th MEETING Thursday, 27 November 2008 and Friday, 28 November 2008 ANKARA Contents 1. Adoption of the draft agenda (PE 409.349) ......................................................... 2. Address by Mr Köksal TOPTAN, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly 3. Address (on behalf of the Turkish Government) by and discussion with Mr Mehmet SIMSEK, State Minister, responsible for Economic Affairs FIRST WORKING SESSION 4. Political situation in Turkey and EU-Turkey accession negotiations 5. Afternoon Session - Adoption of the minutes of the 59th EU-Turkey JPC which took place in Brussels on 27-28 May 2008 (PE 409.348) 6. Afternoon Session - Continuation of debate on the political situation in Turkey and EU Turkey accession negotiations SECOND WORKING SESSION 7. Social policy, unemployment and the role of trade unions THIRD WORKING SESSION 8. Black Sea and Caucasus Cooperation : Security aspects 9. Follow-up issues (Customs Union, visa) 10. Any other business 11. Date and place of the next meeting ANNEX: List of participants PV/EN PE 412.690 The 60th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU-Turkey was opened the 27 November 2008 at 9.40 under the Co-Chairmanship of Mr Yasar YAKIS, Chairman of the Turkish Parliament's delegation to the EU-Turkey JPC, and Mr Joost LAGENDIJK, Chairman of the EP delegation. Mr YAKIS welcomed the EP delegation in Ankara, as well as the presence of Mr Köksal TOPTAN, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and Mr. Mehmet SIMSEK, State Minister responsible for Economic Affairs. 1. Adoption of the draft agenda (PE 409.349) The draft agenda was adopted. 2. Address by Mr Köksal TOPTAN, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Mr TOPTAN emphasised in his address that the current financial crisis requires solidarity and cooperation on the European continent, in particular between the strategic partners EU and Turkey. With reference to 2008, being the year of cultural dialogue, he underlined that the EU should become a multicultural structure and that Turkey will continue its reform- and alignment process with the EU. 3. Address (on behalf of the Turkish Government) by and discussion with Mr Mehmet SIMSEK, State Minister, responsible for Economic Affairs State Minister SIMSEK gave a positive assessment and an optimistic outlook with regard to the State of the Turkish economy, despite the current financial crisis, thanks to the country's sound banking sector, continuing profitability, manageable external liabilities, limited and decreasing public sector gross debts, an improved investment climate as well as strong reserve accumulations. In the ensuing discussion he replied to questions raised and comments made by Mr MATSAKIS, Mr HOWITT, Mr LANGEN, Mr HASSE FERREIRA, Mr LAGENDIJK and Mrs KOPPA. With regard to Mr MATSAKIS's demand to reallocate money from the defence sector to other policy areas he argued that the defence sector was ranking only third in the allocation of public money. In reply to Mr HOWITT's remarks concerning the impact of non-EU membership on the Turkish economy and trade and his appeal that Turkey should resolve the technical issues with regard to the corresponding chapters in the accession negotiations, the Minister replied that the EU integration process is crucial for Turkey's trade, given the fact that 57 % of Turkish exports go to the EU and that Turkey is the 7 greatest EU trading partner. He deplored that a number of negotiation chapters could not be opened because of the Cyprus problem and underlined that the transformation process, required for EU accession, is very useful for the Turkish citizens. With regard to enhancing Turkey's institutional capacity he stressed the need for more twinning projects. PV/EN 2 PE 412.690 In reply to Mr LANGEN, who had asked for an assessment of the customs union after 12 years of being in place and for the future of the Turkish textile industry, Mr SIMSEK noted that Turkey has to comply with EU free trade agreements, emphasising at the same time that the customs union was a great achievement and that his country does not fear competition. In his view the outlook of the Turkish textile industry was positive thanks to high product quality, the proximity of export markets and an overall good competitive stance. Commenting on Mr HASSE FERREIRA's remarks, which referred to IMF negotiations, the effect of a new labour code on Turkey's economy and future energy projects, Minister SIMSEK drew attention to the fact that two chapters of the IMF negotiations had been concluded and that the problem of US Dollar liquidity makes IMF very important for Turkey. As regards energy, he highlighted that Turkey is the key to European energy security, in its quality as natural corridor, and that the dependence on energy imports is Turkey's bottle neck. With regard to the new labour code, he stressed the need for more flexibility, a slim administrative burden and the reduction of informal economic activities. Commenting on Mr LAGENDIJK's surprise with regard to Turkey's IMF attitude, his remarks on the situation of the Turkish Labour Unions and on Turkey's attitude towards the Nabucco-Pipeline project, Minister SIMSEK referred to the IMF pre-conditional standby arrangements; admitted that the Turkish Labour Union legislation was not yet fully up to European standards and therefore should be adapted in a balanced way and not affect the country's competitive stance. Regarding Nabucco, he deplored that the EU seems to treat Turkey just like a transit country and not as an economy, on the whole. Mrs KOPPA's remarks focussed on the risk of building nuclear power plants in seismic areas and on problems related to waste management. Concerning waste management, the Minister argued that a draft law addresses the shortcomings. As to the energy policy he emphasised that Turkey needs to diversify, has already implemented an energy market reform, and though the country possesses the 2nd highest potential of wind energy, needs nuclear plants, which have to be constructed following "best practices". FIRST WORKING SESSION 4. Political situation in Turkey and EU-Turkey accession negotiations Mr. YAKIS' opening remarks to the working session confirmed that Turkey continues to aim at becoming a full member of the EU and will carry on with the reform process. Remaining shortcomings should be brought to the floor and reforms serve the purpose of improving the living standards of the Turkish population, he said. Furthermore, he emphasised that the two JPC Delegations are not conflict parties but partners, both engaged for Turkey's accession to the EU. He expressed satisfaction with the EU Harmonisation Committee's enhanced activities, increasingly open and healthy lines of communication between the partners and progress made to improve the internal working methods of the GNAT. Referring to assessments in the European Commission's 2008 Progress Report, Mr. YAKIS highlighted Turkey's role in energy policy and as an actor for regional stability. In this context he characterised the guidelines of his country's foreign policy as "soft power" approach aiming to implement peace in the region, in particular in the South Caucasus. PV/EN 3 PE 412.690 Making reference to the forthcoming EP report on Turkey, Mr. Lagendijk focused his remarks on achievements, worries and criticisms with regard to the state of play of internal developments in Turkey and to the accession process. Mentioning e.g. the Kurdish problem, the Alevites issue and the DTP closure case, he highlighted e.g. that Turkey should become a first class democracy and speed up the reform process. Deploring that internal turmoil in Turkey has slowed down progress, he emphasised that the hard core of accession negotiations is about democracy and called for more national consensus in Turkey for EU membership. In his view the majority of EU citizens can be convinced of the utility of Turkey's EU membership, despite growing insecurity concerning necessary institutional reforms in the EU for enlargement and sometimes unhelpful EU statements. Speaking on behalf of the Presidency-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, the Ambassador of France, H.E. Mr. Bernard EMIÉ, evaluated the European Commission's 2008 Progress Report as neutral and constructive. He emphasised the importance of a national programme in Turkey for taking over the "acquis communautaire" and of new dynamics in the internal reform process. In particular, he mentioned judiciary reform, fight against corruption, administrative capacity, torture and ill treatment, freedom of expression and religion, protection of minorities, women's and children's rights and Turkey's resolutions of its problems with its neighbours applying to the International Court of Justice if relevant. Furthermore, he welcomed that, in the Commission's assessment, Turkey is by now a stable market economy and emphasised that parliamentarians have a vital role to play in the reform process. After the Ambassador's presentation, Mr. YAKIS thanked the French Presidency for having separated national positions from its attitude as Presidency-in-Office of the Council of the European Union. Addressing the JPC on behalf of the European Commission, Mr. Marc PIERINI, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey, assessed the Commission's Progress Report as fair and balanced. However, criticism of the report in Turkey had to be expected. In his view, the accession process is not an unfair imposition on Turkey and alignment to EU rules and values takes time. Making reference to 250 pre-accession projects currently carried out by the EU, he argued that the EU agenda is in the interest of the Turkish citizens and that the accession process is not falling into recession. In his perception and against the background of important common interests shared by Turkey and the EU, Turkey is already part of the EU's future.