madam president all i would ask for is more honesty in our dealings with turkey and a correct and fair interpretation of events particularly in relation to cyprus where a distorted version of recent history has unfortunately become the accepted wisdom
there is a real opportunity between now and the presidential elections in northern cyprus in april which should be seized and this is a matter for all sides
we should always remember that the turkish cypriots agreed the un plan for reunification in april two thousand and four
it was rejected by the south
we should also remember the may two thousand and four promise of the european union to end the isolation of northern cyprus a promise which was never fulfilled
the eu has a moral duty here
i fear that if we go on treating turkish interests in this way we risk losing a key ally in a strategic area of great importance and encouraging all the wrong tendencies in turkey itself
of course many of us are deeply concerned about migration problems in relation to our nations
this is an aspect of our negotiations with turkey that will have to be dealt with in a particular and robust way
if i had time i would also make reference to croatia and other countries in south-eastern europe which urgently need to address corruption organised crime and abuse of certain private property rights before accession in the case of croatia or candidacy can be taken forward with confidence
