mr president the commission has carefully taken note of parliament's concerns about the democracy and human rights situation in turkmenistan
we welcome the statement in the joint draft resolution that the conclusion of an interim trade agreement would be a good first step that will allow us to engage more with turkmenistan in order to promote further positive developments and cooperation
the commission is aware of parliament's concerns regarding the possibility of suspending the agreements
i recall the statement by my colleague ms ferrero-waldner at the debate last month that both the interim trade agreement article one and the pca article two contain human rights clauses which constitute an essential element of those agreements
as well as these provisions article twenty-eight of the ita and article ninety-four of the pca will enable each side to take appropriate measures in case of grave violations of the agreements
in the commission's view these measures could also include the suspension of the agreements
the commission undertakes to monitor closely the human rights situation in turkmenistan together with member states and to report on a regular basis to the appropriate bodies of parliament
should parliament recommend taking measures in the light of reported grave violations of essential elements of the interim trade agreement especially with regard to human rights the commission will seriously consider duly reflecting parliament's recommendations in its proposal to the council
