The European Parliament's new rapporteur on Turkey, Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D, Spain), said on Friday 24 January that “we need to keep the Turkish EU accession process on track”.
“Turkey is and should remain a candidate country, despite the current difficulties in EU-Turkey relations”, he added, in a statement issued after a visit to the country where he met with representatives of the government, political parties, mayors, parliamentarians and members of civil society.
However, Parliament has repeatedly called for the formal suspension of EU accession negotiations (see EUROPE 12213/3)
According to the new rapporteur, more and better communication is needed to overcome the lack of trust between the EU and Turkey. “Political dialogue should therefore be relaunched at all levels”, he added. He stressed the importance of strengthening contacts at parliamentary level and broadening the dialogue, in particular by strengthening cooperation at the local level between municipalities or universities.
In order to restore confidence, both parties must respect their commitments. According to Mr Sánchez Amor, Turkey must work with the EU on reforms to improve the Rule of law, including the independence of the judiciary and the situation of fundamental rights, and the EU must maintain a “credible membership perspective based on an objective assessment of conditions”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)