19 Amendments of Stelios KOULOGLOU related to 2016/2308(INI)
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to Turkey not having implemented for the eleventh consecutive year the provisions stemming from the EC-Turkey Association Agreement and the Additional Protocol thereto; this refusal continues to have a profound negative effect on the negotiation process,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)
Citation 8 b (new)
- having regard to the fact that the basis for accession to the EU for Turkey is the full compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and the EU's integration capacity, in accordance with the conclusions of the December 2006 European Council meeting,
Amendment 17 #
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines, however, that measures taken under the state of emergency had large-scale, disproportionate and long- lasting negative effects on the protection of fundamental freedoms in the country; condemns the collective dismissal of civil servants, the mass liquidation of media outlets, the arrests of journalists, academics, judges, human rights defenders, elected officials and ordinary citizens, and the confiscation of property and passports on the basis of emergency decree laws without individualised decisions, and without the possibility of timely judicial review; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners held without proof of individual involvement in committing crime or without any charges presented against them;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines, however, that measures taken under the state of emergency had large-scale, disproportionate and long- lasting negative effects on the protection of fundamental freedoms in the country; condemns the collective dismissal of civil servants, the mass liquidation of media outlets, the arrests of journalists, academics, judges, human rights defenders, elected officials and ordinary citizens (over 48 000 according to recent Ministry of Justice figures), and the confiscation of property and passports on the basis of emergency decree laws without individualised decisions, and without the possibility of timely judicial review;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Is concerned by the increasingly frequent allegations of torture, in particular in prisons, and calls for the immediate publication of the latest reports by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)1a;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Condemns strongly the violations of freedom of expression and the serious infringements of media freedom, including the disproportionate bannings of media sites and social media; notes with concern the closure of around 170 media outlets - including almost all Kurdish-language outlets - and the jailing of more than 150 journalists; recalls that a free and pluralistic press is an essential component of any democracy and urges the Turkish government to release all journalists immediately; condemns, furthermore, the repeated blocking of access to social media, in particular the recent blocking of the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia in order to prevent modifications being made to articles about Turkey, and condemns the Turkish courts’ decision to turn down the Wikimedia Foundation’s request for the blocking to stop;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Expresses its serious concern at the continuously deteriorating situation in south-east Turkey, especially in the areas where curfews were imposed, where some 2 000 people were reportedly killed in the context of security operations and an estimated half a million people became displaced in the period from July 2015 to December 2016; notes that local prosecutors have consistently refused to open investigations into the reported killings; recalls that the Turkish Government has a responsibility to protect all people living on its territory, irrespective of their ethnic and cultural origin, religion or beliefs; is convinced that only a fair political settlement of the Kurdish question can bring sustainable stability and prosperity both to the area and to Turkey as a whole; notes that a series of laws have created an atmosphere of ‘systematic impunity’ for the security forces; regrets the decision of the Turkish Parliament to waive the immunity of a large number of MPs unconstitutionally, paving the way for the arrests of opposition politicians;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the deepening ofNotes that there has not been much progress in the EU- Turkey relations in key areas of joint interest, such as counter-terrorism, migration, energy, the economy and trade; believes EU-Turkey coopbelieves EU- Turkey cooperation in key areas can be an investment in the stability and prosperity of both Turkey and the EU; insists that the Turkish government has to revise in line with Internation in these areas to be an investment in the stability and prosperity of both Turkey and the EUal and European Law the legal framework as regards organised crime and terrorism in order to ensure the freedom and fundamental rights, notably the right to fair trial and freedom of expression, of assembly and association in practice;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Believes that strengthening trade relations could bring concrete benefits to citizens in Turkey and the EU, and therefore supports the Commission’s proposal to start negotiations on the upgrading of the Customs Union; reiterates that the EU is Turkey’s main trading partner and tha can be contemplated provided that Turkey proceeds first two thirds of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Turkey comes from EU Member States; ce full and indiscriminate implementation of its obligationsi ders the involvement of social partners in negotiations as crucialiving from the current Customs Union Agreement between EU- Turkey; calls on the Commission to include political benchmarks on human rights and fundamental freedoms inonce the negotiations for the upgraded Customs Union begin;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Deplores Turkey´s refusal to fulfil its obligation of full, non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the EC-Turkey Association Agreement vis-à-vis all member states, the Republic of Cyprus in particular; reiterates that Turkey's refusal to normalize its relations with all EU Member States has started having a negative impact on its relations with the EU, including its accession process;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that visa liberalisation is important for the Turkish population and will enhance people-to-people contacts; encourages the Turkish Government to comply with the final outstanding criteria, including revision of its anti-terrorism legislation and to fully and in a non- discriminatory manner meet all the criteria identified in the visa liberalisation roadmap towards all Member States;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Commends the engagement by the Turkish Government and the hospitality shown by the population in hosting around 3 million refugees; notes the EU-Turkey statement on migration, and urges the Member States to initiate the voluntary resettlement scheme for the most vulnerable refugees in Turkey; calls on the Commission to ensure, via NGOs and international organisations, long-term investment in both refugees and their host communities in Turkey; encourages the Turkish Government to grant work permits to all Syrian refugees; calls on Ankara to keep up its patrolling efforts in the Aegean and to implement fully the bilateral readmission agreements signed with Bulgaria and Greece;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Condemns strongly the recent statements by President Erdogan accusing some EU leaders of ‘Nazi practices’ and warns that the continuation of such unwarranted statements undermines Turkey’s credibility as a political partner; notes with concern the reports of alleged pressure on members of the Turkish diaspora living in the Member States, and condemns the Turkish authorities’ surveillance of citizens with dual nationality living abroad; is concerned at the revocation of a large number of passports, leaving people stateless in contravention of the UN's 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and its 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls upon the Turkish Government to halt its plans for the construction of the Akkuyuy nuclear power plant; points out that the envisaged site is located in a region prone to severe earthquakes, hence posing a major threat not only to Turkey but to the Mediterranean region; accordingly, requests that the Turkish Government join the Espoo Convention, which commits parties to notifying and consulting each other on major projects under consideration that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries; to this end, asks the Turkish Government to involve, or at least consult, the governments of its neighbouring countries, such as Greece and Cyprus, during any further developments in the Akkuyu venture;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines that a settlement of the Cyprus problem would have a positive impact on the entire region, while first and foremost benefiting both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots; praises the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus for having achieved major progress in the settlement talks; welcomes the exchange of preferred maps, thus far unprecedented, and the first international conferenceConference on Cyprus held with the guarantor powers; supports the settlement based on a bi- communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, a single international legal personality, single sovereignty and single citizenship with political equality between the two communities, in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and on the basis of respect for international law and the principles on which the Union is founded; welcomes the intensified engagement by the parties to achieve the settlement of the Cyprus problem; expects Turkey to show active support for the negotiations, and reiterates that Turkey’s commitment and contribution to a comprehensive settlement remain crucial; praises the important work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), and calls on Turkey to allow access to all relevant sites and to assist the CMP by providing information from its military archivemilitary zones for exhumation and to assist the CMP to the discovery of relocated and other remains by providing all relevant information from its military archives; welcomes, in this respect, the appointment of EP standing rapporteur on missing persons;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Calls on Turkey to immediately withdraw its troops from Cyprus and to transfer Varosha to its lawful inhabitants in accordance with UNSC Resolution 550(1984);
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19 b. Calls on Turkey to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which has been signed and ratified by the EU, the 28 Member States and all other candidate countries and forms part of the acquis in line with December 2015 Council Conclusions and other relevant Council Conclusions; also condemns all the provoking actions of Turkey within the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus which are a source of instability and calls on Turkey to terminate them; it recalls that Ankara must respect the sovereign rights of all EU Member States and to refrain from any action damaging good neighbourly relations while at the same time respecting the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19 c. Deplores Turkey's policy of illegal settlement and calls on Turkey to refrain from further settlement of Turkish citizens in the occupied areas of Cyprus, which is contrary to the Geneva Convention and the principles of international law; urges Turkey to revoke relevant threats and terminate all actions aiming to alter the demographic balance on the island thus impeding a future solution;