27 Amendments of Charlie WEIMERS related to 2021/2250(INI)
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 15 April 2015 on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide,
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Turkey, besides being a candidate for EU accession, is a key partner in relation to the economy, trade and migration, as well as a strategic partnercontinues to posture itself aggressively against the EU and Member States, including by instrumentalising migration to blackmail the EU;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas being a candidate country presumes being a European country with a willingness to progressively approach in all aspects the values, interests, standards and policies of the EU; whereas an analysis of the EU’s reports in recent years reveal that Turkey’s distance from the EU’s values and its normative framework is still considerable and is even growing in fundamental areas such as the rule of law and human rights;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas being a candidate country presumes a willingness to progressively approach in all aspects the values, interests, standards and policies of the EU; whereas an analysis of the EU’s reports in recent years reveal that Turkey’s distance from the EU’s values and its normative framework is still consideralmost unbridgeable and is even growing in fundamental areas such as the rule of law and human rights;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas Turkey, along with Qatar, remain the main supporters, including financial, of the Muslim Brotherhood; whereas the Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) has allowed numerous Islamist organisations to operate freely in the country, specifically in the areas of education, social and economic aid;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas Turkey has allowed the EU-listed terror organisation Hamas to operate in the country for many years and Hamas operatives have received red carpet treatment from Ankara; whereas reportedly in recent months, Turkey has stated that it may reduce the Hamas presence in the country, however, no evidence to such effect have been noted;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
D c. whereas religious freedom conditions remain worrisome in Turkey as the Turkish authorities continue to implement restrictive and intrusive policies on minority religious practice; whereas 2021 marked an increase in incidents of vandalism and societal violence against religious minorities; whereas religious minorities in Turkey have expressed concerns that governmental rhetoric and policies contribute to an increasingly hostile environment and implicitly encourages acts of societal aggression and violence;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reiterates its concerdemnation about the persistent distance between the EU and Turkey, despite it being a candidate country, in terms of values and standards, and the continuing lack of political will to carry out the necessary reforms to address, in particular, the serious concerns about the rule of law and fundamental rights that continue to negatively affect the accession process; considers that without clear progress in this field,; considers that Parliament cannot envisage any resumption of accession negotiations with Turkey, which have effectively been at a standstill since 2018;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes, however, that there has been a slight improvement over the past year in overall that EU-Turkey relations, which have con average rematinued stable, as enhanced cooperation and dialogue on a number of issues have coexisted with regular conflicts; expresses its hope that this pattern of ‘conflictual cooperation’ can be overcome and replaced withto be thorny because of Turkey's posturing; calls on Turkey to cease it's negative posturing and move towards a more positive dynamic;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates its firm convictionNotes that Turkey is a country of strategic relevance in political, economic and foreign policy terms, a partner that is key for the stability of the wider region, and an ally with which the EU wishes to pursue the best possible relations; welcomes, in this view, the recent statements expressed at the highest level by the Turkish authorities about the recommitment of the Turkish Government to the EU path, but urges the Turkish authorities to put their words into action and demonstrate this commitment with specific facts and decisions;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates its firm conviction that Turkey is a country of strategic relevance in political, economic and foreign policy terms, a partner that is key for the stability of the wider region, and an ally with which the EU wishes to pursue the best possible relations; welcomes, in this view,takes note of the recent statements expressed at the highest level by the Turkish authorities about the recommitment of the Turkish Government to the EU path, but urges the Turkish authorities to put their words into action and demonstrate this commitment with specific facts and decisions;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Insists that the crucial area of fundamental rights and freedoms, which is at the core of the accession process, cannot be disconnected and isolated from overall relations with the EU and stresses that for Parliament, it remains the main obstacle to further progress on any positive agenda that could be offered to Turkey;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Insists that the crucial area of fundamental rights and freedoms, which is at the core of the accession process, cannot be disconnected and isolated from overall relations with the EU and stresses that for Parliament, it remains one of the main obstacles to further progress on any positive agenda that could be offered to Turkey;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Strongly condemns the Turkish decision to convert the emblematic Hagia Sophia and many other churches, to mosques and calls on the Turkish authorities to urgently reverse such decisions;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Regrets that religious freedom conditions in Turkey have remained poor during 2021 and that the government continued to further empower one interpretation of Sunni Islam over religious pluralism, to the detriment of religious tolerance and the safety and well-being of religious minorities; deplores that religious minority communities face a constant battle to retain and pass on their cultural and religious heritage; calls on the government to actively combat the common acts of vandalism and hate speech targeting religious minority communities; calls on the Turkish government to thoroughly address freedom of religion or belief in the new human rights action plan, by halting the selective interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne’s provisions on minority rights, including by granting legal personality and education rights to all religious minority organizations, including Christians, non-Sunni Muslims and Alevi and others by and providing funding and subsidies to religious organizations in a non-discriminatory manner;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Expresses its concern that the pandemic has fostered an increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic rhetoric in Turkey, including by President Erdogan himself; calls on Turkey to actively combat anti-Semitism in all its forms in its society;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Strongly condemns the Turkish government's continued restrictive and intrusive policies on minority groups' religious freedom as well as the increase in incidents of vandalism and societal violence against religious minorities in 2021; recalls that freedom of religion or belief is a human right and calls on the Turkish government to respect it at all times;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recognises that Turkey has legitimate's perceived security concerns and the right to fight terrorism; stresses, nevertheless,; stresses that ithis must be done wiuphold the full respect for the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms; reiterates its firm and unambiguous condemnation of the violent terrorist attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been on the EU list of terrorist organisations since 2002;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Commends the efforts made by Turkey to continue hosting the largest refugee population in the world; welcomes, in this regard, the continued provision of EU funding for refugees and host communities in Turkey, and expresses its commitment to sustain this support in the future, however, strongly condemns Turkey's instrumentalisation of migration against the EU; stresses that Turkey must abide by its international commitments and that migrants are not to be used as pawns to blackmail the EU;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Commends Turkey's decision to invoke the 1936 Montreux Convention, by blocking Russian warships from passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, following the Russian invasion in Ukraine; welcomes the delivery of Bayraktar drones by Turkey to the Ukrainian army; encourages Turkey to close its airspace to Russian aircrafts;
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Acknowledges that Turkey can pursue its own foreign policy in line with its interests and goals, but expects this policy to be defended through diplomacy and dialogue based on international law and, as a candidate country, to be increasingly aligned with that of the EU;
Amendment 446 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the decrease in tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean during the past year, but remains fully aware that these positive dynamics could be reversed at any moment while the underlying issues remain unresolvedCondemns Turkey's continued aggressive posturing against the EU and numerous Member States;
Amendment 484 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Strongly condemns that Turkey continues to allow the EU-listed terror organisation Hamas to operate in the country for many years and that Hamas operatives have received red carpet treatment from Ankara;
Amendment 528 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Insists that democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights should remain at the heart of EU-Turkey relations under any framework; reaffirms its support for keeping the accession process and its value-based approach as the main framework for EU-Turkey relcalls for the immediate termination of accession negotiations, as it is still the most powerful tool to exercise normative pressure and sustain the democratic and pro-European aspirations of Turkish society; nevertheless remains open to the possibility of both sides reviewing, in a realistic manner, the appropriateness of this framework and its ability to function, or, if necessary,nd the suspension of the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU; stresses the need to fully review EU-Turkey relations and to exploringe other possible models for futuremodels of relations;
Amendment 532 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Insists that democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights should remain at the heart of EU-Turkey relations under any framework; reaffirms its support for keeping the accession process and its value-based approach as the mainis of the opinion that a new comprehensive privileged partnership, based on conditionality, would be the most suitable framework for EU-Turkey relations, as it is still the most powerfulnd a tool to exercise normative pressure and sustain the democratic and pro-European aspirations of Turkish society; nevertheless remains open to the possibility of both sides reviewing, in a realistic manner, the appropriateness of tstresses in this light the need to finish the enlargement process and, in a realistic manner, to explore ways towards a new privileged partnershisp framework of cooperation and its ability to function, or, if necessary, exploring other possibleas a models for future relations;
Amendment 540 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Notes that the current state of ‘conflictual cooperation’ in EU-Turkey relations is prone to producing unsatisfactory results; calls for a rebalancing of the relationship by building on the solid grounds for cooperation driven by mutual interests, and also by building confidence to address the lack of trust; bBelieves that an orderly dispute settlement mechanism may be beneficial in such an overall framework and calls on the Commission to explore the creation of such a mechanism;