‘The accession process Turkey in the EU cannot be restarted under current circumstances," the rapporteur of the European Parliament's report on Turkey stressed, Nacho Sanseth Amor (Socialists, Spain) during a debate today in the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The report on Turkey, adopted at the end of April by the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, is expected to be put to the vote tomorrow after amendments have been tabled in the last month.
The rapporteur of the report stressed that we have been waiting for good news from Turkey for 10 years, but a "absolute lack of will" of compliance with European authorities is being recorded. He stressed that "now Turkey is a truly authoritarian country" and wondered "what an authoritarian country can do in the EU", noting that there is a civil society that wants democracy rather than authoritarianism. He stressed that 'we do not want to kill their last hope', but that the rule of law and human rights are prerequisites for the EU. Accession procedures "rightly have been frozen" and cannot restart without changes in the internal situation.
The rapporteur of the report denounced detention and imprisonment in Turkey, including the mayor of Istanbul, Erem Imamoglu, as well as the intimidation of activists, stressing that these prevent any progress.
He stressed that it is of course necessary to build an operational framework for coexistence with Turkey, but in this effort, Greece and Cyprus are crucial and integral pillars of the relationship. At the same time, he stressed that security and defence issues remain key, however, it is clear that there are still serious deficits of trust and deviations from the principles of good neighbourlyness, which must be addressed in an essential way.
For its part, the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kosh, said the report reflects serious concerns about developments in Turkey, which remains "a key partner, an ally in NATO and a candidate country". He said that, despite the strategic integration goal, "there has been no tangible progress in the rule of law and fundamental freedoms", while on the contrary there has been a setback since 2018.
The Enlargement Commissioner referred to the imprisonment of Mayor Istanbul and persecution of politicians, journalists and businessmen, as well as judicial developments affecting political pluralism and stressed that without progress in the rule of law "there will be no possibility of reopening accession negotiations".
At the same time, he noted that EU-Turkey relations are revitalized in areas of common interest: migration management (with around 2.3 million refugees in Turkey), trade (5the EU's largest trading partner) and customs union.
Finally, he stressed that the EU has a strategic interest in stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and a mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey, taking into account the broader geopolitical balances with Greece and Cyprus.