Brussels, 05/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - MEPs are to debate the situation in Turkey, a European Parliament spokesperson has told EUROPE. This debate will take place on Thursday 6 June in the foreign affairs committee with a member from the European External Action Service (EEAS) or the European Commission. The same day, it will be decided whether the issue will be included on the agenda for the plenary session (10-14 June) - as requested by the Greens/EFA and S&D Groups. “The European Union must not turn a blind eye to protests of this magnitude and to the violence of the police in a country that is a candidate for EU membership”, said the leader of the S&D Group, Hannes Swoboda from Austria. In the view of the joint leader of the Greens/EFA Group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, “the EU must pay more attention to the events in this accession candidate country. If it wants to exert some influence, it must hold a direct dialogue with the Turkish government on how to tackle the problems of this country”. In Cohn-Bendit's opinion, the EU should open the “crucial” chapters with Ankara - which are justice and fundamental rights (chapters 23 and 24). He believes this would be “particularly pertinent and opportune” (our translation throughout). These are chapters which are currently blocked by the Republic of Cyprus.
On 4 June, seven MEPs - Maria Eleni Koppa, Michael Cashman and Richard Howitt (S&D), Isabelle Durant and Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA), Eija-Riitta Korhola (EPP), and Takis Hadjigeorgiou (GUE) - took part in a demonstration outside the European Parliament in Brussels to show their solidarity with the Turks, to condemn the violence of the police, and to ask the authorities to respect the principles of fundamental freedoms and rights. According to the organisers, 800 people took part in this silent demonstration. (CG/transl.fl)