Strasbourg, 16/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 16 December, several political groups at the European Parliament expressed their concern about the recent events in Turkey that have led the country's government to start a wave of arrests on journalists.
A discussion on this issue will take place during Wednesday's plenary session and a resolution will be put to the vote in January. “We are very disappointed at Erdogan's decisions”, said Gianni Pittella (Italy), the leader of the European Parliament's S&D Group on Tuesday 16 December, criticising the actions that “muzzle the free press”, constitute an “assault on democracy and violate the fundamental pillar of freedom of opinion”. In Pittella's view, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan “is working against Turkey's entry to the EU”. The EU, said Pittella, has “the duty” of being involved in Turkey's affairs, thus answering Ankara's criticism of the EU.
The same concern can be found at the EPP Group, whose leader Manfred Weber (Germany) wondered if “the financial aid that we bring should be reviewed in these circumstances”. The EPP “calls on the Turkish authorities to respect human rights and the values of liberalism”, Weber stated, believing that these values are “essential” for the partnership with Turkey. The Greens/EFA Group, which together with the GUE/NGL Group started a call for debate in Strasbourg this week, has also said that it is concerned by the “systematic” nature of the assaults on fundamental rights. “The government is carrying out a systematic slaughtering of the media. This is a real step backwards”, said Greens/EFA co-leader Rebecca Harms (Germany) (our translation throughout). (SP)