BRUSSELS
The Turkey report draft, penned by European Parliament Turkey Rapporteur Dutch Christian Democrat Ria Oomen-Ruitjen, was debated in the general assembly prior to today's vote. During his address, Fule expressed how pleased he was that a compromise had been reached on the issue of the drafting of a new constitution in Turkey being necessary and called on Turkey to work on the constitution in a democratic process and with the widest participation possible.
A number of taboos toppled
Noting that even though it may appear slow at times, Turkey's reform process is ongoing, Fule stated, "A number of taboos have been brought down and today a series of issues can be openly debated. Who would have ever thought that Turkey would be able to return property belonging to minority foundations? The most recent example of this is the return of the Galata Greek Elementary school Foundation building."
Fule stated that the rules of the game were established at the start of negotiations with Turkey and that those rules will not be altered during this process. Speaking to the member nations blocking Turkey's accession negotiations, Fule delivered the message, "If we maintain the exact same stipulations established in 2005 at the start of accession negotiations, then our impact on Turkey will be much more dignified and strong."