The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) called for an end to the accession negotiations with Turkey in a resolution during talks in Strasbourg.
The text, which will be put to a vote by the EP plenary on Wednesday afternoon, although not binding, includes a tough language against Ankara and intends to put pressure on Turkey on a series of issues.
MEP Kati Piri, a Dutch politician from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament used tough language against Turkey calling for the official suspension of accession talks stressing the country had crossed all red lines. “There is no Rule of Law. The violations of human rights are ongoing, journalists continue to be imprisoned”, she said. “It is a parody”, she underlined.
The Secretary of State Melania Gabriela Ciot of the European Council echoed the sentiments, albeit in more reserved terms, expressing her concerns about constitutional reforms in the country and regression on issues of fundamental rights.
European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn said Turkey should refrain from acting in provocative ways in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean. He went on to urge the country to move forward with the necessary reforms, adding, however, that Turkey was a partner and neighbouring state with which the EU collaborated on a number of issues.
