The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, stresses the need to keep all compunction channels open with Turkey, but most political groups at the European Parliament (EP) have called for a freezing of EU accession talks with the country until the situation in Turkey improves. They denounce violations of human rights and the rule of law.
There is virtual unanimity about freezing of the accession talk and introducing a number of preconditions for reaching them once Turkey complies with the conditions, explained the head of the ALDE group at the EP, Belgium’s Guy Verhofstadt. This was echoed by the EPP, whose head, Manfred Weber, said people needed clear wording and must not stand by and regard the situation with crossed arms. He said he wanted the accession talks to be put on ice for the moment as it is not possible to carrying out dialogue with Turkey in the current situation.
The head of the ECR, the United Kingdom’s Syed Kamall, said frank and open dialogue was needed with Turkey and like other groups, the ECR has members who are in favour, opposed or don’t have any opinion about Turkey’s accession, but they can all see that the current relationship is not working. He said relations had to be built on honesty, not false promises and called for a new relationship to be built based on real cooperation but not necessarily membership of the EU. Some MEPs are calling for a complete end to the negotiations.
Rebecca Harms, co-president of the Greens, called for the dialogue to not be interrupted but said that one cannot pursue relations with Turkey as if nothing had happened. She explained that during her talks with the Turkish opposition and Turkish dissidents, the latter had called for dialogue to be kept open. The president of the S&D, Gianni Pittella (Italy), said the talks must be frozen to send a strong signal to President Erdogan to not follow this road and now continue with political repression, not ride roughshod over rights, and to make a u-turn in the interests of his people. Pittella added that the door to dialogue had to be left open in the hope of resuming talks in the near future. S&D member Kati Piri (The Netherlands), the EP’s rapporteur on Turkey, said that Erdogan had left the EP with no choice but to freeze the negotiations. This didn’t mean putting an end to dialogue, she said, but this is a time when accession negotiations are no longer credible and if the EU takes its values seriously, it must send a strong signal and expect the European Summit to do the same in December.
The High Representative said the best way to boost democracy in Turkey is to continue to get involved and keep all means of communication open. Closing the debate, Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that the Foreign Affairs Council of 14 November had shown that the member states are not prepared to take any radical decisions, but were counting on commitment (see EUROPE 11667).
On Thursday 24 November, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution on Turkey, calling for a freezing of the accession talks. Under the EU-Turkey negotiation rules, only the Council has the power to formally suspend the accession negotiations.
Not even waiting until the end of the debate, Turkey’s delegation to the EU criticised the discussions, saying that they had demonstrated how false truths were overtaking reality and how there was no empathy or interest in dialogue. The delegation tweeted that this was a matter of great concern. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)