The European Parliament called for a freeze of the accession process. Kurtulmuş: «They are not a reliable partner»
by Emanuele Bonini
Time of dialogue maybe is not over yet, but time for negotiations is. The European Parliament voted in favour of a temporary freeze of EU accession talks with Turkey, in a resolution approved today at large majority (479 votes to 37, with 107 abstentions). Although the resolution is not legally binding, Europe sent a strong political message to the Turkish authorities: there will be no steps forward in the EU membership negotiations until the country will be back in line with the EU values. Ankara reacted by strongly condemning the vote. MEPs criticized particularly the «disproportionate repressive measures» taken by the Turkish government since the failed coup attempt in July 2016. According to them, these measures «violate basic rights and freedoms protected by the Turkish Constitution» itself. Furthermore, the resolution rehiterated that the capital punishment is the red line not to be crossed. A re-introduction of the death penalty by the Turkish government would lead to a formal suspension of the accession process, said MEPs.
No doubts amongst groups
The three major political groups voted togetherin favour of halting the accession process. «The disproportionate repression measures taken by Erdoğan forced us to urge the Commission and Council to temporary freeze the accession talks with Turkey, because we can no longer remain silent in the face of Erdoğan's outrage and the evident breaches of the rule of law and human rights in Turkey», said the president of S&D group, Gianni Pittella. «This resolution is a clear political message to Erdoğan that should not be misinterpreted: we want Turkey to be anchored to Europe, to democracy and to rule of law». Mafred Weber, the president of EPP group, defined the decision taken by the Plenary «a strong signal for the protection of fundamental values and rule of law». The same kind oof message came from the ALDE Group leader, Guy Verhofstadt. «Turkey is an essential partner for the European Union when it comes to energy security, stabilising the region around Syria and Iraq and the fight against terrorism. However it is wrong to pretend that we can advance on any of these fields by trampling on European values and principles, by closing our eyes as President Erdogan closes down independent media outlets, jails journalists and criminalises members of his Parliament».
Tensions rise in bilateral ties
Turkish government had already had yesterday the opportunity of talking about the upcoming vote of the European Parliament, showing unconcern fot it. «This vote has no value at all, no matter what result emerges», said Turkey's president Recep Tayipp Erdogan yesterday in a TV specch. Today the approach changed immediately after the outcome. Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, said Europe’s partnership with Turkey was at stake as a result of the vote. «With this vote, the European parliament will freeze itself out of any constructive dialogue with Turkey and raise further serious questions over Europe’s reliability as a partner».
Time of dialogue maybe is not over yet, but time for negotiations is. The European Parliament voted in favour of a temporary freeze of EU accession talks with Turkey, in a resolution approved today at large majority (479 votes to 37, with 107 abstentions). Although the resolution is not legally binding, Europe sent a strong political message to the Turkish authorities: there will be no steps forward in the EU membership negotiations until the country will be back in line with the EU values. Ankara reacted by strongly condemning the vote. MEPs criticized particularly the «disproportionate repressive measures» taken by the Turkish government since the failed coup attempt in July 2016. According to them, these measures «violate basic rights and freedoms protected by the Turkish Constitution» itself. Furthermore, the resolution rehiterated that the capital punishment is the red line not to be crossed. A re-introduction of the death penalty by the Turkish government would lead to a formal suspension of the accession process, said MEPs.
No doubts amongst groups
The three major political groups voted togetherin favour of halting the accession process. «The disproportionate repression measures taken by Erdoğan forced us to urge the Commission and Council to temporary freeze the accession talks with Turkey, because we can no longer remain silent in the face of Erdoğan's outrage and the evident breaches of the rule of law and human rights in Turkey», said the president of S&D group, Gianni Pittella. «This resolution is a clear political message to Erdoğan that should not be misinterpreted: we want Turkey to be anchored to Europe, to democracy and to rule of law». Mafred Weber, the president of EPP group, defined the decision taken by the Plenary «a strong signal for the protection of fundamental values and rule of law». The same kind oof message came from the ALDE Group leader, Guy Verhofstadt. «Turkey is an essential partner for the European Union when it comes to energy security, stabilising the region around Syria and Iraq and the fight against terrorism. However it is wrong to pretend that we can advance on any of these fields by trampling on European values and principles, by closing our eyes as President Erdogan closes down independent media outlets, jails journalists and criminalises members of his Parliament».
Tensions rise in bilateral ties
Turkish government had already had yesterday the opportunity of talking about the upcoming vote of the European Parliament, showing unconcern fot it. «This vote has no value at all, no matter what result emerges», said Turkey's president Recep Tayipp Erdogan yesterday in a TV specch. Today the approach changed immediately after the outcome. Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, said Europe’s partnership with Turkey was at stake as a result of the vote. «With this vote, the European parliament will freeze itself out of any constructive dialogue with Turkey and raise further serious questions over Europe’s reliability as a partner».
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