Seanad debates

Wednesday, 12 March 2003

Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements.

 

We should be wary of singling out Turkey as the only country that has ever had question marks over its human rights record. Some of the legislation we have had to have on the Statute Book – including internment, which I supported at the time – would place us in some difficulty with modern thinking on human rights. We should recognise that some countries have bigger problems to deal with. We should not be unduly superior. However, if Turkey joins the European Union, it will be the country with the largest population. Within a short time its population will exceed that of Germany. If it joins, it will change the nature of the European Union in a substantial way but, on the other hand, it will be beneficial because its demographic profile is much more healthy than that of existing member states. It will not have a major pension problem because many babies are being born in that country and many young people are entering the workforce. The rest of Europe will face an appalling pension and ageing problem into the future. This is one of the issues about which the Convention can do next to nothing. Looking at the broad canvas of what is important in Europe, this is a major issue.

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