The EU-Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) was established in November 2004 as the outcome of the first international conference on ‘The EU, Turkey and the Kurds’ held in the European Parliament in Brussels on 22-23 November 2004. The EUTCC aims to both promote and provide suggestions for Turkey’s bid for EU accession, and to help guarantee respect for human and minority rights and a peaceful, democratic and long-term solution to the Kurdish situation. The EUTCC monitors, and conducts regular audits of, Turkey’s compliance with the accession criteria, as defined in the accession agreements; it also makes recommendations, acts as a point of contact, and exchanges information, with the institutions of the EU and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The conference brings together leading academics, writers, legal experts, human rights organisations, and prominent Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals, from all over the world, with the goal of exchanging information and ideas to produce resolutions and recommendations to advance the EUTCC’s aims and activities. Following the first conference in 2004, a second conference (2005) was called to evaluate the development of Turkey’s EU accession process during the first year of accession negotiations. The speakers noted the escalating military conflict in southeast Turkey and the failure of various State institutions to adhere to their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. Also discussed was the slowing of the reform process in Turkey, just as EU accession was beginning to be viewed as a certainty. The conference also focused on concerns over the new Anti-Terror legislation, continued restrictions on freedom of expression, and issues of torture and ill-treatment during detention. The Conference reiterated its support for the creation of a multi-cultural Europe and called upon leading European politicians to take a central part in the debate. It concluded with the unanimous adoption of declarations concerning the accession process, specifically calling upon the British presidency of the EU to ensure that talks with Turkey opened as planned on 3 October 2005, and to urge Turkey and other member states to foster a climate of peace so that a democratic platform for dialogue can be established between Turks, Kurds, and other constituent peoples and minorities resident in Turkey... |