Brussels, 25/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 25 July, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that Turkey is not able the join the EU now or in the near future. After the attempted coup d'état on 15 July, the country is seeing widescale purges in the army, police force, legal system, teaching and the media. The latest example is that the media reported on Monday that arrest warrants have been issued for 42 journalists.
In an interview on French state television station France 2, Juncker said he thought that in the state in which it currently is, Turkey is not in a situation such that it could join the EU shortly or in the longer term. He said that if it is to be addressed, the negotiating chapter on justice, freedom of speech and freedom of opinion (Chapter 23 on justice and fundamental rights, currently blocked by Cyprus, Ed.) would be addressed soon and it would be useful to pursue this debate with Turkey. Juncker warned that if Turkey reintroduces the death penalty on Tuesday 26 July, the European Commission would immediately halt negotiations because a country that has the death penalty in its legislative tool box does not have a place in the European Union.
EU urged to apply pressure for a return to the rule of law
In an article addressed in a number of media outlets to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Council of Europe secretary general Thorbjørn Jagland, some 70 figures, half of them MEPs from a number of political groups, viz. GUE/NGL, Greens/ALE, ALDE, EFDD, S&D, ECR and EPP, along with academics, journalists and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, call on Europe's leaders to intervene with the Turkish government to get it to restore the rule of law in the country.
They condemn any attempt to overturn democratic order with a military coup d'état, and also condemn just as severely the purges decided upon by the Turkish government in violation of human rights and legality. The signatories urge all the EU member states to interview the Turkish government, demanding that it restore the rule of law and democratic principles in the country, a crucial condition for the continuity of normal diplomatic relations and the pursuit of accession negotiations for Turkey to join the EU. The signatories urge Mogherini and Jagland to monitor the situation regarding respect of human rights and legality very closely and to demand the immediate release of everyone arbitrarily arrested and detained after the failed coup d'état. The signatories are “insistent” that in the light of recent developments the High Representative recommend to the European Council the immediate suspension of the 18 March agreement between Turkey and the EU, explaining that it has become clear that Turkey cannot be considered as a “safe country” for refugees and asylum-seekers. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)