Speech Verhagen bij bilaterale conferentie Turkije-Nederland
Gelegenheid: bilaterale conferentie Turkije-NederlandLadies and gentlemen,
Welcome to this first Dutch-Turkish bilateral conference here at the lovely Kasteel de Wittenburg. In particular, let me extend a warm welcome to my Turkish colleague, Mr Ali Babacan. I would also like to thank all those who worked so hard, both here and in Turkey, to prepare for this conference.
The partnership between the Netherlands and Turkey has borne fruit in many areas and on many levels, reflecting the warm relations that exist between our two countries. But as well as being warm, our relations are also multi-faceted. They include not just political, but also economic and cultural ties.
Our relations have a long history. As the Republic of the United Provinces and the Ottoman Empire, we established official diplomatic relations in 1612. But the links between our countries go back even further. Midway through the sixteenth century, Dutch merchants began to import tulip bulbs from the Ottoman Empire. Travellers brought back tales of the tulips in the breathtaking gardens around the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. And we owe the word “tulip” to this Turkish connection. People there usually called it a “tulipan” because of its resemblance to the turban. Today, the tulip remains an important symbol in both the Netherlands and Turkey.
In 1924 the Netherlands was one of the first countries to sign a treaty of friendship with the new Turkish Republic of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. And since then, major Dutch companies such as Shell, Philips and Unilever have set up operations in Turkey. In 2005, Philips celebrated the 75th anniversary of its presence on Turkish soil. Trade relations are still strong too. In fact, Turkey is the Netherlands’ fourth largest trading partner outside the EU. And the Netherlands is one of the biggest sources of direct investment in Turkey. Reason enough, then, for our Minister of Economic Affairs to visit Turkey today and tomorrow.
Good relations with Turkey are very important to the Netherlands. After all, we have a large group of Dutch people of Turkish origin, who contribute greatly to Dutch society. They have shown a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit – the number of Dutch businesspeople of Turkish origin has rocketed in recent years. And in this way, they fulfil an important bridging role in our bilateral relations.
The process of Turkey’s accession to the EU got under way with the official opening of negotiations in October 2005, after the green light had been given under the Dutch EU Presidency a year earlier. The prospect of accession is an important stimulus for necessary reforms in Turkey in areas such as democratisation, legal certainty and human rights.
It is true that there have been difficult phases in the negotiations. Partly because of the deadlock on Cyprus, and because some Europeans feel that the recent pace of EU enlargement has been too rapid. One of the consequences of last spring’s successful state visit to Turkey was the founding of the Turkey Institute at the end of last year, with the help of the Dutch private sector, the municipality of The Hague and Leiden University. The Institute hopes to increase support for accession by means of wide-ranging public information initiatives, including lectures, forums and exchanges.
My own position on Turkish accession to the EU is clear. The Netherlands will honour its commitments if Turkey satisfies all the accession criteria. In other words, while we are not going back on our promise, we do want to emphasise that it is Turkey that holds the key to accession. A number of conditions must be satisfied first, including the Copenhagen criteria on democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and minorities. I welcome the reform initiatives of recent months and hope that this positive trend can be continued.
Turkey fulfils an important geopolitical and strategic role at the crossroads of different cultures. In its foreign policy, it aims to serve as a bridge between Europe and Islamic countries in the Middle East, the southern Caucasus and central Asia. As a regional power, Turkey can make a substantial contribution to stability in this region. And as a democratic country where the vast majority of the population practises a moderate form of Islam, Turkey disproves the notion of a clash of civilisations, and shows that Islam and democracy can exist side by side.
Turkey is also a vital link in the EU’s energy supply chain. The Bosphorus is an important supply route for Europe’s energy needs. The Nabucco project, a European initiative to build a gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Turkey, was conceived with these needs in mind. And since as far back as 1952, Turkey has been a dependable member of NATO. It is currently making a substantial contribution to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am confident that the Wittenburg conference, as we might call this meeting from now on, will help strengthen the close ties that exist between Turkey and the Netherlands, and which Mr Babacan and I have confirmed once more in a Memorandum of Understanding.
In signing this Memorandum of Understanding we have expressed our mutual intention to intensify existing contacts between various layers of government, civil society, business and higher education, especially at civil service level, and to consider how we can support each other on European, international and bilateral issues.
This conference, which besides foreign policy and European questions will today mainly address cooperation in the field of transport, climate and justice, offers an excellent platform for further cooperation and exchange between Turkey and the Netherlands.
It only remains for me to wish you a productive day!
Thank you.