MEPs once again called for the official suspension of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, criticising "a sharp decline in the rule of law and human rights in recent years".
By adopting the report drafted by Kati Piri (S&D, Netherlands) on the Commission’s 2018 Report on Turkey (370 votes in favour, 109 against and 143 abstentions), the European Parliament recommends that the Commission and the EU Council "formally suspend" accession negotiations with Turkey, as it had done before. This request for a formal suspension was approved by 419 votes in favour, 163 against and 36 abstentions, while the EPP Group's amendment calling for an "end" to the negotiations was rejected by 342 votes against, 207 in favour and 67 abstentions.
"Even if the government crosses all of the red lines... it is not a good sign to say that, even if there are positive changes, it will be over once and for all", Mrs Piri told reporters. With the exception of Turkey, only the Council can unanimously decide to terminate accession negotiations.
MEPs also called for a redefinition of EU-Turkey relations "from the point of view of an effective partnership without prejudice to Article 49 of the EU Treaty", which concerns a state's accession to the EU. In front of the press, Mrs. Piri hoped that the Council would have a "vision for the future...to see how to prevent Turkey from drifting even further".
In her report it says that “any new political commitment between the Union and Turkey should be based on provisions conditional to respect for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights”. The European Parliament encourages cooperation and further convergence on foreign, defence and security policy issues, including cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
It also calls on the Commission to use the pre-accession funds currently allocated under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance to support, "through a special envelope managed directly by the Union", civil society, human rights defenders and Turkish journalists and to increase opportunities for face-to-face contact.
While Member States block the modernisation of the customs union with Turkey, Parliament is more open to it, believing that this would make it possible to maintain the preservation of Turkey's economic anchorage in the Union. According to him, "the door should be left open for the modernisation and improvement of the 1995 Customs Union in order to include important areas such as agriculture, services and public procurement, which are currently not being taken into account". This modernisation "would provide a valuable opportunity to establish democratic conditionality, positive leverage and the possibility of a roadmap in which the modernisation of the customs union would go hand in hand with concrete improvements made to democratic reforms by Turkey", say MEPs.
The European Parliament encourages Ankara to "make the necessary effort" to meet the latest benchmarks necessary for Turkish citizens to benefit from a visa-free regime.
The report also, in particular, brings up the situation of human rights and the rule of law in Turkey, the situation of the Kurds, the (non-) relationship with Cyprus and the response to the Syrian crisis. (Camille-Cerise Gessant with Lucas Tripoteau)