(Unofficial Translation)
The fourth meeting of the Reform Action Group (RAG) was held on 29 August
2018, in Ankara at the Directorate for European Union Affairs of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the chairmanship of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Chief Negotiator Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and with the
participation of Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül, Minister of Treasury
and Finance Dr. Berat Albayrak and Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu.
Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) Committee on
Foreign Affairs Volkan Bozkır, Chairman of the GNAT Committee on EU
Harmonisation Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar, Chairman of the Turkey-EU Joint
Parliamentary Committee İsmail Emrah Karayel and the Chief Ombudsman Şeref
Malkoç participated in the meeting. High-level officials from the
Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, the Personal Data Protection
Authority, the Human Rights and Equality Institution and the Inquiry
Commission on the State of Emergency Measures also participated in the
meeting.
Turkey has gone through a significant process of change since the last
meeting of the Reform Action Group held on 11 December 2015. The vital
threat posed to our country by the treacherous 15 July coup attempt has
been eliminated with the measures taken during the state of emergency
period and we have recorded
a
significant progress in the fight against terrorism.
Following the termination of the state of emergency, Turkey withdrew its
derogations from Article 4 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This was
conveyed to the UN Secretary General and the Secretariat of the Council of
Europe.
In line with our EU membership perspective, the political reform process
and reflections regarding the termination of state of emergency were
addressed with all their dimensions as the first agenda item of the Reform
Action Group, which gathered for the first time in the Presidential System
of Government. Our determination to continue with reforms in the areas of
the judiciary and fundamental rights was clearly set forth.
The Presidential System will also support our determination. In the new
system, which is built on a faster decision-making process with less
bureaucracy and more effective and efficient work, reforms will be realised
much more quickly.
The Reform Action Group agreed on accelerating the political reform
process. In the context of our EU membership objective, the standards of
the Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a founding member, the norms and
the acquis of the EU, to which Turkey is a candidate country, will act as
an anchor in the steps to be taken.
In this framework, utmost importance will be given to bolstering the EU
Departments of the Ministries which are experienced in coordinating and
conducting relations with the EU.
The recent economic threat posed to our country, the statements and stance
of the Trump administration which have impacted the global economic system
have provided an important opportunity for Turkey and the EU to further
appreciate each others’ value. In fact, the updating of the Customs Union
between Turkey and the EU would be significant in supporting an economic
order based on rules and demonstrating globally how this principle should
be implemented. Accordingly, the RAG decided that the necessary efforts and
initiatives will be taken to accelerate the start of the negotiations on
the update of the Customs Union.
Steps to be taken in judiciary in the forthcoming period will continue on
the basis of the Judicial Reform Strategy (2015-2018) which is currently
being implemented. The Judicial Reform Strategy will be updated with the
participation of all stakeholders, the Turkish legal community and civil
society. Updating of the new Judicial Reform Strategy is planned to be
completed by the end of 2018. The principles and assessments of the EU, the
Council of Europe and other international organisations as well as the case
law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will be taken into
consideration in the drafting process. The aim of the new Strategy is to
further enhance trust in the judiciary, improve access to the justice
system, increase its effectiveness and provide better protection for the
right to trial within a reasonable time.
Regarding fundamental rights and freedoms, the importance of the
implementation of the Action Plan on the Prevention of the ECHR Violations
was underlined. Following a thorough analysis of the Action Plan
(2014-2019), all options including updating the Action Plan were addressed
at the meeting.
The 100-Day Action Plan announced by the President also includes steps to
be taken regarding political criteria, Chapter 23 on Judiciary and
Fundamental Rights and Chapter 24 on Justice, Freedom and Security in the
accession negotiations.
In the 100-Day Action Plan, a specific objective is to implement and
further improve the recent reforms related to Chapter 23 on Judiciary and
Fundamental Rights. Future steps to render judicial services faster, more
effective and accessible will in particular contribute to strengthening
fundamental rights and freedoms. In the meeting, the following issues were
discussed within the scope of work undertaken by the Ministry of Justice:
- implementation of the "targeted time periods " in judiciary,
- expanding the competence of the Human Rights Compensation Commission,
- increasing the effectiveness of alternative methods for settlement of
disputes,
- increasing the number of courts of appeal,
- measures for the effective protection of the right to presumption of
innocence by a preliminary evaluation before investigation.
The competence of the Human Rights Compensation Commission was expanded by
the legislation that entered into force on 31 July 2018. This will enhance
the effectiveness of the Constitutional Court and contribute positively to
implementation considering the specialisation of the Commission on
complaints regarding reasonable trial periods.
In order to protect the dignity of the individuals, the right to the
presumption of innocence has been safeguarded by the introduction of an
initial period of evaluation prior to investigation. In this context,
21,000 individuals have been protected against false allegations in less
than a year.
Due to tragic news regarding sexual assault and exploitation of children,
the increase in the deterrent nature of penalties for the fight against
sexual exploitation of children was indicated as a priority in the 100-Day
Action Plan. In this context, it is agreed that the draft law, which was
delivered to the GNAT in last April but has become obsolete, will be
brought to the agenda of the GNAT as soon as possible. For the protection
of children and prevention of secondary victimization in the juvenile
justice system, 59 judicial investigation rooms have been set up and their
number will be increased.
The reconciliation mechanism, which is an alternative method of settlement
of disputes regarding crimes, was also discussed at the meeting. Following
the reform in the area of reconciliation, 223,400 files were settled in
2017 and the workload of criminal courts and juvenile criminal courts has
decreased. Work will continue to sustain and further enhance this success
achieved in 2017. Steps will be taken to further widen the scope of
reconciliation and increase public awareness.
As the second item on the agenda of the RAG meeting, we addressed the
matters within the scope of Chapter 24 on Justice, Freedom and Security.
As a follow-up on the 2016-2018 Action Plan that was successfully
implemented with the coordination of the Ministry of Interior, it was
agreed that the updating of 2019-2021 Action Plan on the Fight against
Organised Crime would be accelerated.
Steps to be taken in the scope of Chapter 24 included in the 100-Day Action
Plan demonstrate our determination to continue with the reforms in this
chapter, for which the European Commission indicated in Turkey's 2018
Country Report that there had been a good level of progress. In this scope,
we are committed to objectives regarding migration management, increasing
border security, fight against terrorism and organised crime.
The establishment of four new removal centres, an increase by 23 % in the
updated records of Syrians hosted by our country, and measures to increase
border security contribute to our commitment to the Turkey-EU Statement of
18 March.
Turkey acted in accordance with the principle of pacta sunt servanda and
fulfilled its obligations in the framework of the Turkey-EU Statement of 18
March. Great success has been achieved regarding prevention of irregular
migration as a result of Turkey's efforts; irregular crossings in the
Aegean Sea have dropped dramatically and loss of lives has been prevented.
The determination set forth by Turkey to implement the Turkey-EU Statement
of 18 March has also been validated by reports published by the EU.
Turkey expects the EU to demonstrate a similar willingness regarding all of
its commitments arising from the 18 March Statement. In this framework, the
EU is expected to revitalise the accession negotiations in particular and
to conclude the Visa Liberalisation Dialogue, to launch the negotiation
process to update the Customs Union, to put into practice the Voluntary
Humanitarian Admission Scheme and to further accelerate the implementation
of Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
Turkey will continue its humanitarian approach regarding migration
management. Hosting the greatest number of refugees and being the world’s
largest donor of humanitarian aid both in amount and per national income,
Turkey is proud of its humanitarian stance. Our expectation from the
international society, in particular from the EU, is burden and
responsibility sharing.
The Visa Liberalisation Dialogue between Turkey and the EU was discussed at
the meeting. Turkey had conveyed a working paper on the remaining
benchmarks regarding the Visa Liberalisation Road Map to the EU Commission
in February. By issuing the second generation passports on 2 April,
remaining benchmarks were reduced from seven to six. Furthermore, a
technical meeting was held with the EU on 31 May 2018. We hope that the
visa liberalisation process is not hindered by political obstructions and
Turkey is rewarded for its efforts. The RAG decided to accelerate the work
on the remaining benchmarks.
Opening of the Chapter on Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and the Chapter
on Justice, Freedom and Security to negotiations as soon as possible will
facilitate our reform and alignment efforts.
Turkey will continue its efforts with determination in the forthcoming
period in line with its EU membership perspective. Our country is committed
to increase the level of standards in the area of political reforms and
keep a stance founded on democracy, rule of law and protection of human
rights in shaping the future. The European Convention on Human Rights, EU
norms and acquis will continue to be taken into consideration in planning
our reforms.
We agreed to hold the next meeting of the Reform Action Group under the
auspices of the Ministry of Justice on 11 December 2018 in Ankara.