REX/219 21st meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee Kayseri, 14 July 2006 JOINT DECLARATION by Mr Jan Olsson (co-chair) and Mr Şemsi Bayraktar (acting co-chair), at the 21st meeting of the EU-TURKEY JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE held in Kayseri, on 13 and 14 July 2006 ******** 1. The EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) is a body that brings together representatives of organised civil society from the EU and Turkey. Its members come from various economic and social interest groups representing civil society. 2. Mr Ali Babacan, Minister of State, Chief Negotiator of Turkey on EU accession, Ambassador Ms Maria Serenius, Ambassador Oğuz Demiralp, Secretary-Generalfor EU Affairs, Ambassador Hansjörg Kretschmer, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey, Mr Roger Kaliff, President of the Commission for External Relations of the Committee of the Regions, Mr Aydin Dumanoğlu chair of the Turkish delegation to the EU- Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and Mr Rifat Hisarciklioğlu, President of Turkish Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Commodity Exchanges participated in this meeting of the EU-Turkey JCC. Their contributions covered a wide range of issues relating to EU- Turkey relations and provoked a lively debate. EN
- 2 - The involvement of organised civil society in Turkey s accession negotiations process 3. The JCC welcomes the fact that the opening and provisional closing on 12 June 2006 of the chapter on Science and Research have followed the opening of accession negotiations on 3 October 2005. This is a signal that Turkey's EU accession process is on track. 4. The JCC regrets the slowdown of the reform process in Turkey and stresses the importance of Turkey fulfilling the Copenhagen political criteria, which remains a condition for progress on the negotiations on the different chapters. 5. The JCC stresses the need to ensure a greater transparency of the negotiating process and especially request the publication of the screening reports. It is also important civil society organisations in Turkey to be informed well in advance of the opening of negotiation chapters. 6. The JCC stresses that in order to ensure the valuable consultation with civil society in Turkey during the negotiation process, a mechanism for permanent dialogue between the Turkish government and Turkish organised civil society must be created. The JCC underlines the importance of an independent and diversified representation of organised civil society, open to as many interest groups as possible. 7. The JCC observes the fact that the proposals for reforming the Economic and Social Council of Turkey have not yet produced any results. The JCC emphasises that the Turkish Economic and Social Council needs to develop into a significant element of the democratisation process and take part in the economic and social policy making in Turkey. The JCC stresses that the composition of the ESC needs to be reshaped by increasing the number of representatives from civil society and by changing the role of the government representatives. 8. The JCC welcomes the call upon civil society organisations in the EU and Turkey to contribute to dialogue and the increase of mutual ties. In this context the JCC nevertheless points out the need to ease the development of contacts between civil society organisations, such as facilitating visa procedures. The JCC decides to organise a debate with the appropriate authorities on the visa issue at its next meeting. 9. The JCC reiterates the need for adequate assistance from the EU and the Turkish authorities to civil society organisations to participate in the accession process and the civil society dialogue. Without a reasonable capacity building, the input of civil society organisations will not provide the expected results. 10. The JCC is pleased to see that the promotion of the EU-Turkey Civil Society Dialogue is one of the key priorities for the 2006 financial assistance programme. Nevertheless, the JCC strongly urges the Turkish authorities to make adequate administrative and human resources
- 3 - available to ensure the effective implementation of these actions. The grant allocation procedure should be transparent and well disseminated among all civil society organisations. 11. The JCC notes with interest the initiative of the Committee of the Regions to set up a EU- Turkey Contact group for local and regional authorities in order to ensure their full participation in EU-Turkey relations. Trade union rights 12. After a critical examination of the reports presented by the two rapporteurs, Mr Tom Etty and Mr Rüçhan Işik, the JCC decides to revisit the issue and to set up a working group which will, at the next meeting, present a joint report. 13. The JCC welcomes the remarks of the EU in the EC-Turkey Association Council on 12 June 2006 calling upon Turkey to make the necessary amendments to the laws regulating trade union rights, namely the trade unions law and the collective bargaining, strike and lockout law, in order to achieve trade union rights in line with EU standards and the relevant ILO conventions. The JCC also calls upon the EU to solve this issue as soon as possible with the Turkish side in order to avoid it becoming an obstacle for the opening of negotiations on the chapter on social policy and employment. 14. The JCC deplores the fact that despite the urgent request of the ILO to bring legislation and practice in line with ILO Conventions and despite the statement of the European Commission that trade union rights will be one of the priorities on the negotiations agenda for accession to the EU, the draft laws have been submitted to social partners, but have not yet been adopted by Parliament. Neither of the visits of the JCC co-chairmen to the Turkish Minister of Labour and Social Security in autumn 2005 and spring 2006 have produced any further results. Women and employment 15. The JCC considers that Turkey is faced with significant challenges and opportunities concerning women and employment especially as regards bringing its policies in line with EU policy on gender equality. The assessment made by the EU institutions in the European Pact for Gender Equality clearly points out what direction the EU Member States should take. Turkey would largely benefit from an alignment to these standards. The effective participation of women in the labour market is of great importance for achieving the economic and social development goals of Turkey. Having regard to the joint report on women and employment, drawn up by Mr Olsson, Mr Kudatgobilik and Mr Kiliç, the JCC makes the following recommendations: 16. The JCC notes that the problems that the Turkish women encounter today in labour life are more of an economic and social nature than legal. Gender roles emphasise women's primary
- 4 - responsibility for unpaid work within the household and in the rural sector. The JCC underlines that the education of women, especially in rural areas, is essential to improve their possibilities to participate in the labour market and to take part in local administrations as well as local initiatives. 17. The JCC reiterates the need for mechanisms that aim to change existing stereotypes. A broad debate on this theme must be launched urgently and be promoted by the public authorities, social partners, women's organisations as well as other civil society organisations and the media. 18. The JCC stresses the need for a comprehensive women's employment policy in Turkey and the elaboration of a National Employment Strategy in conjunction with the EU accession process. This strategy should be based on cooperation with the social partners and other relevant civil society organisations, in particular women's organisations. In this context the JCC recommends the establishment of an infrastructure for childcare, elderly and disabled care services. 19. The JCC strongly recommends that the Turkish social partners agree upon a national programme for gender equality including concrete initiatives combined with benchmarking and monitoring instruments. 20. As gender-based discrimination continues to be highly pervasive in the labour market, the JCC argues that an objective job classification system should be developed. The scope of the Labour Code must also be extended in order to combat all kinds of discrimination in different employment and working conditions. 21. The JCC underlines the need for incentives for women to create viable enterprises. They must be provided with vocational knowledge and guidance, consultancy services as well as entrepreneurship and management training. In this context, the social partners in the public and private sectors have an important role to play. 22. The JCC recommends the creation of a Standing Committee on Gender Equality in Parliament. This committee would assess all legislation brought to the Turkish Grand National Assembly from a gender equality perspective. A similar initiative could be taken at the level of governmental institutions to promote gender equality within all policies. 23. The JCC intends to continue to work with the Turkish women's organisations involved in the elaboration of this report and possible other women s organisations and would like to have, on a permanent basis, a better representation of women. This would also facilitate the important mainstreaming of women interests in the overall work of the JCC.
- 5 - Turkish Economic Development in the Context of the Lisbon Strategy Having regard to the joint report on the Turkish Economic Developments in the Context of the Lisbon Strategy drawn up by Ms Päärendson and Mr Keskin, the JCC makes the following recommendations: 24. The JCC considers that the Lisbon Strategy, based on the 3 pillars: economic, social and environment, can be applied to Turkey but with different policy priorities than in the EU. 25. The JCC recommends that the Turkish government develop further the existing mid-term economic policy programme into a National Reform Programme structured according to the EU Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs adopted by the European Council in 2005. This process must be done in dialogue and in partnership with organised civil society. 26. The JCC underlines that in order to safeguard economic and fiscal stability and sustainability, Turkey should use all its competitiveness advantages such as its young population, strategically important location, strong trade links and impressive volume of production. 27. The JCC stresses that the reform of budgetary procedures should be continued and the improvement of regulatory and legal frameworks fully implemented. 28. In order to create an attractive business environment in Turkey, the JCC recommends further structural reforms through the strengthening of the rule of law, privatisations, a better gender balance in the labour market and a reduction of the informal economy. Turkey needs to make serious efforts in areas related to labour law, health and safety at work, and social protection and to associate representatives of organised civil society in the process. The investment in modern infrastructure (transport systems, information and communication technology) is also essential. 29. The JCC stresses the need to harmonise legislation in the field of company law with the acquis and raise the quality of legislation by involving social partners and other organised civil society organisations in the revision of legal acts. 30. The JCC underlines that Turkey needs to develop and implement an active labour market policy, improving quality and productivity at work. The integration of released labour forces from rural areas following agricultural reform and the creation of new jobs through rural diversification is also essential. 31. The JCC calls for a reform of education and training systems in response to the new skill requirements of the market. The quality of vocational education (professional training) systems has to be improved and life-long learning promoted. 32. The JCC decides to examine at its next meeting revised recommendations on this issue.
- 6 - Next JCC meeting The 22nd meeting of the JCC will take place in the EU during the first trimester of 2007. This declaration has been sent to the Turkish authorities, the EU institutions, the representatives of Turkish and EU civil society organisations, and the media. EU-Turkey JCC working documents and any further information can be obtained by contacting the secretariats: Mr Mustafa Bayburtlu, Director, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB). (Tel: 00.90.312.413 82 30; email: abm@tobb.org.tr) and Ms Laila Wold, Administrator, Section for External Relations, European Economic and Social Committee (Tel: 00.32.2-546.91.58; email: laila.wold@eesc.europa.eu)