TURKEY: Having Turkey as a member would help the European Union to become a "real global power", the country's chief negotiator for EU accession, Ali Babacan, told the Forum on Europe yesterday.
"Turkey's membership will help strengthen the EU's role as a global actor. If the EU wants to be one of the major players in the global scene, a real global power, Turkey will help to achieve this," he said in a speech entitled Turkey's case for membership of the European Union.
Addressing a crowded forum session in Dublin, Mr Babacan stressed Turkey's strategic importance for the future of the EU. "As a key regional actor and ally located in close proximity to many existing and potential hotspots that are high on the European and international agenda, Turkey can help enhance stability and promote welfare in the Balkans, the Caucasus, central Asia and the Middle East."
A total of 29 speakers from different parties and organisations responded to Mr Babacan's speech, many of them raising issues about human rights - particularly the rights of women - and free speech in Turkey, the position of the Kurdish population and the alleged genocide committed against Armenians by Turkish forces from 1915 to 1917.
Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy said the Government was "disappointed" that progress in the negotiations with Turkey "hasn't been as fast as it might be" and he called on Ankara to lift its current ban on Cypriot vessels and aircraft.
Fine Gael delegate Charles Flanagan criticised restrictions on freedom of expression under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, but added: "Our party, Fine Gael, firmly supports your application."
Labour TD Joe Costello reminded Mr Babacan that Ireland "was left waiting for 12 years" before joining the European Economic Community, as it then was. He criticised the lack of trade union rights in Turkey.
Sinn Féin's Daithí Doolan said the Turkish government had "an appalling human rights record" and called for the "freezing" of accession talks until there was clear evidence of an improvement. Senator Martin Mansergh of Fianna Fáil said: "It would be quite wrong for a party that was closely associated with a paramilitary campaign to be so vehemently lecturing from a height Turkey on the question of human rights".
Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said a section of European opinion "do not want the EU to become another imperial power". Expressing concern that Turkish accession could weaken workers' rights in the EU, he said the Irish experience with Turkish firm Gama Construction had been "incredibly disastrous".
Green Party councillor Brian Meaney praised the efficiency of the Turkish workers and management from Gama Construction in relation to the Ennis bypass which was "going to be completed well ahead of schedule and well within the budget". Several speakers, including Independent Senator Mary Henry and Fianna Fáil delegate Una McGurk raised the issue of women's rights.
Responding at the end, Mr Babacan sharply criticised the Greek Cypriot government, which he said had campaigned for a "No" vote in the referendum on the Annan Plan for the reunification of Cyprus in 2004.
Greek Cypriot (Republic of Cyprus) vessels and aircraft could not enter Turkish seaports and airports but there were also trade restrictions on northern Cyprus as well as on Turkish trucks entering Austria, Italy and Belgium. "Why don't we lift all the restrictions at once?" On the issue of free expression, he said that when Turkish prime minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan was mayor of Istanbul, he was imprisoned for four months because he had recited four lines from a poem on the school syllabus.
Mr Babacan said he was not happy with the situation regarding Article 301, but there was a separation of powers in Turkey and he was "quite puzzled" when his government was asked to interfere in judicial decisions.
Meanwhile, Finland's European presidency yesterday cancelled a weekend meeting between the Turkish and Cypriot foreign ministers scheduled to take place in Helsinki on the issue of access to ports in Turkey and trade restrictions on northern Cyprus.