The European Parliament (EP) recommended Turkish EU accession procedures be frozen in a damning report supported by 367 MEPs, with 76 voting against it and 188 abstentions on Wednesday.
The report stressed that despite Turkey’s geopolitical and strategic importance, this cannot compensate for its government’s “democratic backsliding,” adding that EU membership criteria are not up for negotiation.
The report underlines Turkey’s failures to address fundamental democratic shortcomings.
In the report, tabled by rapporteur Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D, ES), MEPs urged the Turkish government, the EU institutions, and EU member states to continue working towards a closer, more dynamic, and strategic partnership with particular emphasis on climate action, energy security, counter-terrorism cooperation, and regional stability.
MEPs also condemn the recent illegal visit of President Erdoğan to the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus and his “provocative statements” as a unilateral action and tantamount to a direct illegitimate intervention against the interests of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
The MEPs condemn the steady deterioration of democratic standards in the country as evidenced by the “relentless crackdown” on dissident political voices in Turkey, which is seriously affecting Turkish EU accession procedures.
The report also expressed its strong condemnation of the “harsh crackdown on the recent peaceful mass protests and the prosecution of hundreds of protesters through hasty mass trials lacking any evidence of criminal wrongdoing.”
A special reference is made in the report to the attacks against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, considering them “a politically motivated move aimed at preventing a legitimate challenger from standing in the upcoming elections. With these actions the current Turkish authorities are pushing the country further towards a fully authoritarian model.”
The MEPs conclude that EU membership is contingent on fulfilling specific accession criteria, such as stable institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and the protection of minorities, good neighborly relations, compliance with international law and alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy. These are absolute criteria, not matters subject to transactional strategic considerations or negotiations.”
