Activities of Marietje SCHAAKE related to 2018/2150(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
2018 Report on Turkey (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the 2018 Commission Report on Turkey PDF (170 KB) DOC (65 KB)
Amendments (20)
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
- having regards to the 2019 budget under which IPAII funds to Turkey will be cut by 146.7 million in view of the situation in Turkey as regards human rights, democracy and the rule of law,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that over 150 000 people were taken into custody in the post-coup crackdown and 78 000 have been arrested on terrorism charges, while more than 50 000 people remain in jail; expresses concern at the excessively lengthy pre-trial detention and judicial proceedings, the fact that in several cases no indictment has been issued yet, and the harshness of detention conditions; is particularly concerned at the fact that such arrests seem to also target legitimate voices of dissent or members of the opposition, human rights defenders, journalists or members of the opposition; warns against the abuse of anti-terror measures to legitimize the repression of human rights; is very worried at the allegations of ill-treatment and torture of those in prison, as reported by several human rights organisations;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Condemns the increased executive control over and political interference with the work of judges and prosecutors; is concerned that EU funding intended for the training of the judiciary and law enforcement to abide by such principles as impartiality, independence and human rights is instead being used to legitimize repressive behaviour; stresses that a serious reform of the legislative and judicial branches of power is needed for Turkey to comply with its obligations under international human rights law; is awaiting, in this regard, the Reform Action Group’s action plan on judicial reforms;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses serious concern about the disproportionate and arbitrary measures curtailing freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information; condemns the closure of more than 160 media outlets and, the large number of arrests of journalists in the aftermath of the coup attempt as well as the unsubstantiated and disproportionate sentences handed down to journalists; urges Turkey to guarantee media freedom as a matter of priority and to immediately release and acquit all unlawfully detained journalists;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Expresses concern at the shrinking space for civil society and the promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms; notes that a large number of activists, including human rights defenders, were arrested and demonstrations were recurrently banned during the state of emergency; calls on Turkey to protect the fundamental rights of minorities, such asincluding LGBTI people and to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders currently detained, to drop all trumped up charges against them and to immediately seize all direct and indirect harassment against them;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Notes with concern the increase in the number of so-called 'honour killings' that took place in Turkey; calls for all perpetrators of this crime to be brought to justice under appropriate manslaughter or murder charges;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Expresses serious concern about Internet censorship in Turkey with the growing number of websites blocked from Turkey reaching 220,000 including that of Wikipedia since April 2017 and urges the authorities to bring Law No.5651 in line with European standards;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the state of emergency further constrained the capacity of the Grand National Assembly to fulfil its fundamental role of democratic scrutiny and accountability; notes with great concern the arrest of two members of parliament from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), as well as the way the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) has been particularly marginalised, with many HDP lawmakers being arrested on the grounds of alleged support for terrorist activities; underlines that the Turkish Grand National Assembly should be the central institution in Turkish democracy, and represent all citizens on equal terms, regrets the high electoral threshold as a distortion of true political representation;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Calls on the EU and Member States to increase their protection and support for human rights defenders at risk in Turkey, including through emergency grants, and to ensure full implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders by the EU Delegation and Member State embassies and consulates;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, taking all of the above into account and in accordance with the Negotiating Framework, to formally suspend the accession negotiations with Turkey; remains, however, committed to democratic dialogue with Turkey; asks the Commission to use, during the formal suspension of negotiations, all funds available underremove Turkey from the list of beneficiaries of both the IPA II and the future IPA III to support, through a dedicated envelope directly managed by the EU, Turkey’s civil society, and to increase opportunities for people-to-people contacts, academic dialogue, access for Turkish students to European universities and media platforms for journalistregulations; calls for an appropriate amount of funding reserved for Turkey under these regulations to be put under a dedicated envelope under the EIDHR or future NDICI respectively, in order to directly, without governance interference, support Turkey’s civil society, human rights defenders and journalists and to increase opportunities for people-to-people contacts, academic dialogue, access for Turkish students to European universities and media platforms for journalists; underlines that this suspension is without prejudice to article 49 TEU which states that all European countries which meet the Copenhagen criteria can apply for EU membership and it does not close the door for Turkey`s future European ambitions;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that while the EU accession process was at its start a strong motivation for reforms in Turkey, there has been a stark regression in the areas of the rule of law and human rights during the last few years; reiterates its concerns over announced plans to reinstate the death penalty in Turkey; recalls that Parliament repeatedly called for the opening of Chapter 23 on Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and Chapter 24 on Justice, Freedom and Security at a time when the Turkish government had pledged to conduct serious reforms; regrets deeply that the accession instruments could not be used to the fullest extent owing to a continued blockage by the Council;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Points out that Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and must abide by the commitments of that membership; points out that Turkey had the highest number of applications to and cases before the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) in 2017; calls on Turkey to abide by and implement the rulings of the ECHR and to remain in compliance with its Council of Europe commitments and to implement constitutional and judicial changes and reforms in cooperation with the Venice Commission;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Expects the accession negotiation process to be replaced with a renewed political engagement between the EU and Turkey on economic cooperation, including issues such as deepening the Customs Union but also on shared geopolitical challenges such as the ongoing civil war in Syria and the fight against Daesh, as well as on refugee and migration related issues; underlines that any new EU-Turkey relations should be built on conditionality provisions on respect for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, but also aim at increasing people-to-people contacts, such as student exchanges, scientific and university cooperation and visa liberalisation;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes therefore that a door should be left open for the modernisation and upgrading of the 1995 Customs Union between the EU and Turkey, to include relevant areas such as agriculture, services and public procurement, which currently are not covered; recalls that two thirds of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Turkey comes from EU Member States and that Turkey is an important growth market for the EU; believes that the upgrade would provide a valuable opportunity for democratic conditionality, positive leverage and the possibility of a roadmap where upgrading the Customs Union would go hand in hand with concrete commitments by Turkey on democratic reforms; believes further that the upgrading of the Customs Union would provide an important opportunity for policy dialogue on climate change as well as on labour rights in Turkey; calls on the Commission to start preparatory work for the upgrading of the Customs Union as soon as the Turkish Government indicates its readiness for serious reforms;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls the important role played by Turkey in responding to the migration crisis resulting from the war in Syria; takes the view that Turkey’s population has shown great hospitality by offering shelter to more than 3 million Syrian refugees; reiterates its concern about the legitimacy and functioning of the EU-Turkey statement on migration and the (political) conditions under which it was concluded; calls on the EU and its Member States to keep their promise regarding a large-scale resettlement, and to ensure adequate financial resources for the long-term support of Syrian refugees in Turkey;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Notes that the EU and Turkey continue to cooperate on issues of (military) strategic importance within the NATO framework; calls on Turkish authorities to resume its cooperation with EU members under NATO’s rolling program of cooperation with non-EU countries; points to the high number of Turkish generals suspected of involvement in the failed coup attempt;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Regrets the actions undertaken by the Turkish government against Turkish citizens in third countries, including harassments and kidnappings as well as hotlines through which people are encouraged to report other citizens to the Turkish government; reiterates Interpol arrest warrants cannot be misused to target Turkish dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists and those critical of the government;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18 c. Expresses its concern about the risks migrant and refugee children in Turkey face, including discrimination and different forms of exploitation including forced labour, sexual exploitation and violence as well as forced marriages;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the efforts by the UN to resume negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus; supports a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the EU acquis; reiterates its call on Turkey to commit and contribute to a comprehensive settlement, to begin withdrawing its troops from Cyprus, to transfer the sealed-off area of Famagusta to the UN, and to refrain from actions altering the demographic balance on the island; underlines that following a settlement, the united Cyprus will be a Member of the European Union, thus rendering the concept of 'guarantors' obsolete and outdated praises the important work of the Committee on Missing Persons; recognises the right of the Republic of Cyprus to enter into bilateral agreements concerning its exclusive economic zone; urges Turkey to engage in the peaceful settlement of disputes, and to refrain from any threat or action which might have negative effects on good neighbourly relations; stresses that a reunification of Cyprus will have a substantial and positive economic impact also for Turkey;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy, the Member States, the Government of Turkey and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and for translation of this report into Turkish.