Brussels, 18/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On arriving at the Council on Monday 18 July, the EU's foreign affairs ministers condemned the failed coup in Turkey during the night of 15-16 July, calling for respect of the rule of law. The EU was the first to respond to the coup the same night, although the events were still not clear.
In the conclusions adopted at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, for which the situation in Turkey was added to the agenda after the attempted coup, the ministers strongly condemn the attempted coup and reiterate their firm support for the country's legitimate institutions. Alongside this, they call on the Turkish authorities, including “the police and security forces”, to show restraint. “All must be done to avoid further violence, to protect lives and to restore calm”, the Council states.
In addition, the ministers call for “full observance” of Turkey's constitutional order and stress the importance of the rule of law prevailing. According to the EU's foreign affairs ministers, “it is crucial to ensure full respect for all democratic institutions of the country including the elected government and the Turkish Grand National Assembly”. The ministers also underline “the need to respect democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the right of everyone to a fair trial in full compliance with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including Protocol 13 on the abolition of the death penalty”.
During their various public addresses on Monday, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and the EU's foreign affairs ministers underlined the importance of the rule of law being observed. “There is no excuse for a country to abandon fundamental rights and the rule of law”, Mogherini said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
“We cannot accept the military dictatorship, but at the same time we must be vigilant that the Turkish authorities do not set up a political system that turns away from democracy”, France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated. “After the failure of the attempted coup, the response must not be less democracy, but more democracy. What is needed is for fundamental freedoms to be respected, for those who have taken responsibility for the coup to be brought before justice as part of the rule of law”, he continued, saying that “Turkey must come out stronger and more democratic from what has happened”. For the Belgian foreign minister, Didier Reynders, while the coup must be condemned, “the Turkish authorities must also be asked to respond more proportionately, respecting the rule of law”. “It is important than no excesses start”, he added, mentioning the purge of magistrates. Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced on Monday that more than 7,500 people (over 600 military, 755 magistrates and 100 police) had already been detained in custody after the failed coup, and that nearly 9,000 officials from the interior ministry, the majority police officers, had been dismissed. In Hahn's view, it seems that something had been prepared. “The lists are available which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage”, he said. “I'm very concerned. It is exactly what we feared”.
Mogherini and the ministers particularly criticised the announcement of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of a possible return to using the death penalty. “The unequivocal rejection of the death penalty is an essential element of the Union acquis”, the EU foreign ministers state in their conclusions. “No country can become a member of the EU if it uses the death penalty. It is very clear in our acquis”, Mogherini stated. For Reynders, “this is not acceptable in the context of moving closer to the EU”.
In addition, the Council conclusions state that “Turkey is a candidate country and a key partner for the European Union. The EU remains committed to working together with a democratic, inclusive and stable Turkey to address our common challenges”. “The direct future of Turkey is currently being played out”, said Luxembourg's minister, Jean Asselborn. “The EU can play an important role for warning - not giving lessons - but trying to calm the situation so that stability is recovered, really being able to try, with all the means available to us, to show that it is very important that the relationship between the EU and Turkey, in the interests of both, is not destroyed”, he said.
One of the issues of concern is that of the future of the EU-Turkey agreement of 18 March. On Monday, the European Commission underlined that the failed coup in Turkey should not jeopardise the agreement or statement of 18 March that was negotiated between the EU and authorities in Ankara for the return to Turkey of irregular migrants from Greece. The Commission has not specified whether the weekend's bloody events might result in implementation of this part of the agreement being slowed down. The agreement also involves accession chapters. When asked about this, Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said that the successful implementation of this agreement “depended on the determination of all parties concerned” and that they should “uphold their respective commitments”. The EU “will uphold its part and will continue to implement this agreement”, Schinas added. “On the other side, we hope that Turkey will do the same”, he said. He also said that several issues were still in the process of being worked upon, particularly the liberalisation of visas - work which has nearly finished, Schinas said.
Under the EU-Turkey agreement of 18 March, the Greek authorities are authorised, upon prior examination of the files, to return asylum seekers to Turkey who have arrived in Greece irregularly. To do this, Greece must declare that Turkey is a safe third country. In exchange, the EU is committed to resettling on EU territory Syrian refugees who have been housed in Turkish camps (855 people had been resettled on 15 July). The EU is also committed to financing humanitarian projects in Turkey up to €3 billion. Sources at the European Commission said on Monday lunchtime that no return of a migrant or asylum seeker to Turkey had taken place in recent days. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Solenn Paulic)