The European Parliament says that Turkey's accession process must remain frozen because of the democratic regress
The process of accession of Turkey to the European Union must remain frozen, due to the democratic regress, a report adopted by the members of the European Parliament, gathered in the plenary session in Strasbourg, according to Agerpres.
“The geopolitical and strategic importance of Turkey cannot compensate for the democratic regression of the government, and the criteria of accession to the EU cannot be negotiated. In current circumstances, despite the democratic and pro-European aspirations of a large part of Turkish society, the process of accession to Turkey to the EU cannot be resumed,” the MEPs, “, 74 against 188 abstentions.
“The Turkish government has failed to approach the fundamental democratic deficiencies,” the report shows, which mentions the increasing change in the EU to “a different framework for the relationship (with Turkey – no), which could be to the detriment of the accession process.”
The European Parliament urges the Turkish government, EU institutions and EU Member States to “continue to efforts for a closer, more dynamic and strategic partnership, with a special emphasis on climatic actions, energy security, cooperation in combating terrorism and regional stability.”
MEPs declare themselves “deeply worried about the continuous deterioration of democratic standards in Turkey and the constant suppression of critical voices.” They condemn the “hard repression of the recent peaceful protests and the criminal prosecution of hundreds of princes through hasty mass trials, without any proof of criminal acts.”
The European elected officials also believe that the attacks against the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, are “a political motivated movement meant to prevent a legitimate counter -candidate for future elections”, adding that, through these actions, “the current Turkish authorities push the country further to a completely authoritarian model.”
“The EU belonging is conditioned by the fulfillment of specific criteria for accession, such as stable institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect and protection of minorities, good neighborhood relations, respect for international law and alignment with the foreign foreign policy and security policy. negotiations, ”says the report.
MEPs also condemn the recent illegal visit of President Recep Rayyip Erdogan in the busy areas of the Republic of Cyprus and “challenging statements” as a unilateral and equivalent action with a direct illegitimate intervention against the interests of Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
They emphasize that the democratic and pro-European aspirations of most Turkish society, especially among young people, are a major reason for keeping in life the accession process, even if it is frozen.
MEPs recognize the strategic and geopolitical importance of Turkey, as well as its increasing presence and influence in critical areas for international security, such as the Black Sea region, Ukraine and the Middle East.
“Turkey is a strategic partner and a NATO ally. It is also a country with which the EU has close relations in the field of security, trade, economy and migration,” adds MEPs.
“Therefore, it is important to maintain a constructive dialogue and to deepen the cooperation in areas of mutual strategic interest. However, the democratic regress and non -alinity in the EU's common foreign and security policy do not lead to significant progress in this regard,” warns.
“We constantly hear the Turkish authorities talking about their alleged commitment to accession to the EU and how important it is for us to revive this process due to security and geopolitics, but they misunderstood. Belonging to democracy and, the more it goes to a full authoritarian model -as it has recently been observed, the more Imamoglu has been. The membership of the EU, ”said the rapporteur on this file, the Spanish MEP Nacho Sanchez Amor (S&D group), quoted in a statement.
