RESOLUTION 28.4.76
on the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of the EEC-Turkey
Association adopted in Nice on 28 April 1976 and in Ankara on 9 November 1976.
The European Parliament,
Political aspects
2. Welcomes, in view of the critical state of relations within the Association, the fact that the EEC-Turkey Association Council finally met on 20 December 1976;
3. Expresses its desire, on the basis of the results achieved at this meeting, for the further development of the Association backed up by the necessary political decisions;
4. Urges once again that the political consultations introduced in connection with the meetings of the Association Council should be further developed, so as to enable Community policy to be brought more into line with that of Turkey at international level;
5. Notes that the negotiations on Cyprus have come to a complete standstill and hopes that the governments concerned will work out the necessary solutions as soon as possible by peaceful means;
6. Welcomes the opening of negotiations and the initial progress made in the discussions between the Turkish and Greek Governments on the delimitation of the Continental Shelf and the reopening of air traffic in the Aegean area, which may be an important contribution to defusing the dangerous tensions that continually occur in this area;
Economic, social and financial aspects
7. Calls for positive and speedy consideration to be given to Turkish requests for flexible Community measures in the industrial sector, but recommends that such measures be subject to an appropriate time limit so that they do not form an obstacle to the implementation of the customs union;
8. Stresses the Community's positive attitude to Turkey's being allowed, in accordance with its own wishes, to conclude preferential agreements with other developing countries without extending or reserving these preferences to the Community, as laid down in the Additional Protocol;
9. Expresses its grave concern at Turkey's trade balance deficit vis-a-vis the Community, which in 1975 rose to 1,700 million dollars, and calls for the immediate publication of the report drawn up by the working party of experts as well as the prompt implementation of the remedial measures outlined therein;
10. Is opposed to Turkish agricultural exports being placed at a disadvantage as a result of the form the Community's Mediterranean policy takes, and welcomes in this connection the additional concessions granted by the Community at the last Association Council meeting;
11. Stresses that it is important to the Turkish economy and to the Association that Turkish workers be allowed to move freely within the Community;
12. Calls for freedom of movement to be implemented gradually in accordance with the terms of the Agreement, but stresses that this must not lead to an uncontrolled mass migration of workers, but must be controlled by a central body on the basis of supply and demand in the employment sector; Turkish workers must be accorded 'second priority' after workers from Community countries, but before workers from other third countries;
13. Stresses that the medium-and long-term Turkish labour market problems will be solved not by freedom of movement, but by the systematic expansion of industry and agriculture and the resulting creation of jobs in Turkey;
14. Expresses its desire for the speedy conclusion of the third EEC-Turkey Financial Protocol and points out that it has not yet been possible to pay out the 47 million units of account provided for in the second Financial Protocol, because two countries have not yet ratified the Supplementary Protocol on which it is based;
Activation of relations within the Association
15. Calls on the Association Council, with a view to the much-needed further development of the Association, to work out practical measures to diversify Turkish agricultural production, to improve marketing techniques and to train managerial staff;
16. Calls on the organs of the Association to work out and put into operation development projects along the lines recommended by the Joint Parliamentary Committee for the economic expansion of the less developed regions of Turkey;
17. Calls for an all-round expansion of economic cooperation between the Community and Turkey, as described in its detailed proposals, so that Turkish industry and agriculture may become more competitive and its trade balance deficit and present imbalances in development may be reduced, thus making it possible to achieve the Association's final objective, namely the accession of Turkey to the European Community as a full member;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution and the committee's report to the Council and Commission of the European Communities, to the Turkish Grand National Assembly, to the Parliaments of the Community's Member States and to the Turkish Government.