EC/Turkey relations: implementation of measures to promote economic and social development

The modified proposal of the Commission for a Regulation regarding the implementation of measures to promote economic and social development in Turkey, accepted 31 of the 40 amendments put forward by the EP, either fully or partially. The 21 amendments accepted and incorporated as they stood add to the Commission's recitals and consolidate and add detail to certain provisions. These fully accepted amendments mainly relate to the specific wording of different articles in the proposed regulation. 10 amendments were accepted in part. They relate to comitology, the allocation of funds to Turkey, funding allocated only in part from the MEDA programme, the economic (rather than the political) development of Turkey, the net beneficiaries of co-operation and operations (public bodies and departments), referral (replace with 'pass on') of the Commission's indicative programme to the MED Committee, the facilitation of NGOs, new comitology provisions and finally, consultation of the EP in good time before it adopts the Budget of the EU. The 9 amendments rejected are the following: -that projects and programmes financed must further Turkey's social and political development. The Commission rejects the word 'political' on the grounds of Article 177 of the Treaty and the title of the Regulation and its fourth recital. -that Turkey is eligible for accession to the EU on the basis of the same criteria as all applicant states. The Commission rejects this on the grounds that there are no conditions attached to eligibility. The criteria applied to all applicant countries are attached to accession itself, and the beginning of the negotiating process. -the possible suspension of co-operation on account of obstacles to the implementation of certain measures, human rights and the protection of minorities for exapmle. The Commission rejects this amendment for two reasons. First, there is no legal or institutional basis for any form of EP initiative to propose to the Council that cooperation be suspended. Second, it is only logical that the provisions be the same as those for the MEDA programme, in order to avoid having more than one procedure for a single country. -that aid to Turkey supports programmes to repair damage caused by the recent earthquakes. The Commission rejects this amendment on the grounds that post-earthquake reconstrucion does not fall within the scope of the proposed regulation for Turkey. -support for measures seeking to promote human rights, protection of minority and cultural identity, among others. The Commission rejects this on the grounds that it seeks to avoid sensitive issues. -support for the resolution of the Kurdish problem. The Commission rejects this on the grounds that the original wording allows funding for operations including those targeted at the Kurds and the Kurds' relations with other Turkish citizens. -that the Commission shall submit an annual report on progress with regard to respect for democratic principles, and human rights, among others. The Commission rejects this on the grounds that it already publishes an annual 'regular report'on all the applicant countries, including Turkey. -that the Commission shall regularly evaluate operations financed by the EU in order to establish whether the objectives have been achieved and to provide guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations. The Commission rejects this on the grounds that amendment 36 already provides for all programming and evaluation documents to be submitted to the EP and the Council. -that infrastructure capacity be improved in a number of areas, the environment and energy for example, but excluding the development of nuclear power. The Commission rejects this amendment as seeking to exclude nuclear power from the areas of activity funded by the EU, needlessly draws attention to the Akuya affair and furthermore, the Commission has no intention of setting up a nuclear power project in Turkey.�