Members of the European Parliament warned, on Wednesday 17 June, against the continuing democratic backsliding in Türkiye and called on Ankara to carry out reforms.
In the report by Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D, Spanish) that it adopted (381 votes to 107, with 171 abstentions), the European Parliament considers that Türkiye is missing out on the current momentum in enlargement policy owing to a lack of democratic reforms. It calls on the government to address the persistent shortcomings as regards the rule of law, notably in the judicial system, human rights, democratic standards and freedom of the press, and to respect good neighbourly relations and international law.
The European Parliament reiterates its call to consider restrictive measures against Turkish officials responsible for serious and deliberate violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Although Türkiye’s accession process has been at a standstill since 2018, the country remains strategically and geopolitically important, and is a NATO ally, the MEPs stress.
They highlight the importance of strengthening EU-Türkiye cooperation on regional security, “firmly” support the development of a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship in every area of common interest, in a “phased, proportionate and reversible” manner.
The European Parliament calls for the modernisation of the customs union and underlines the importance of Türkiye meeting the outstanding criteria in order to relaunch the visa liberalisation process.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/mee (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)