Turkey is now an authoritarian country, the rapporteur of the EP report on Turkey, Socialist-Democratic MEP, Nacho Sánchez Amor, said on Tuesday, noting that ‘there is no reason at this time to unfreeze Turkey’s accession process’ and “we must find a coexistence scheme with Turkey.”
Speaking during a debate on the EP report on Turkey, at the plenary session of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, he said that ‘we have been waiting for good news from Turkey for 10 years’, adding that in recent years there has been a lack of will on the part of the Turkish authorities with European values. ‘We are not interested in statements, we are interested in actions’, he stressed, adding that Turkey is now an authoritarian country.
Civil society in Turkey does not want to live under an authoritarian regime, Sánchez Amor pointed out, adding that ‘we do not want to kill their last hope.’ ‘In order to become a member of the EU, human rights must be respected,’ he pointed out, emphasizing that ‘there is no reason at this time to unfreeze Turkey’s accession process.’ ‘If the internal situation in the country does not change, the accession process will not be unfrozen,’ he said.
‘If we do not act correctly now, it will take decades to build the trust of civil society,’ he noted, adding that ‘we will have to find a way to coexist with Turkey’ and that Greece and Cyprus are important elements of this relationship.
We recognise Turkey’s role in security and defence issues, said Nacho Sánchez Amor, emphasising that there are problems in the mutual trust and good neighbourly relations that should exist.
In his closing remarks, he pointed out that ‘we can separate the Turkish government from its society’, noting that ‘we do not want to kill the hope of society’. Addressing the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, he called on her to reach out to civil society in Turkey, as well as to speak publicly about Turkey’s problems.
On her part, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, stated that the report ‘reflects our concerns about Turkey, which is our key partner’. Speaking of a setback in Turkey’s negotiations with the EU, which have been frozen since 2018, and referring to the arrests and imprisonments in the country, she pointed out that the issue of the rule of law and pluralism in Turkey is at stake.
At the same time, the Commissioner noted that ‘we must strengthen efforts with Turkey on issues of common interest,’ adding that EU-Turkey relations have begun to revive on issues of common interest, such as the migration issue.
‘We are looking for ways to implement a customs union,’ she said, emphasizing that the EU has a strategic interest in stability in the Middle East and a mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey.
Kos said that progress on the Cyprus issue is ‘crucial,’ welcoming the efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin.
On behalf of the EPP, MEP Isabel Wiseler-Lima said that the Cyprus issue has not progressed. He also mentioned that the former Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, is in prison, adding that Turkey has withdrawn from the Istanbul Convention.
On behalf of the Socialists and Democrats, MEP Yannis Maniatis noted that for another year Turkey is moving away from European principles and values, while violating the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus. At the same time, he called on Turkey to keep all its promises and open the Theological School of Halki.
On behalf of the Patriots for Europe, MEP Mieke Andriese stated that Turkey does not respect the rights of minorities, reduces civil liberties and promotes anti-Semitism. ‘Turkey has no place in the EU,’ she stressed.
On behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists, MEP Geadis Geadi, stated that ‘the report on Turkey, in its original form, was disproportionately lenient’. ‘As shadow rapporteur I managed to improve the text in part, however it remains problematic’, he noted.
‘From the day we adopted the Report in the Committee, until tomorrow’s vote, only a few weeks have passed, during which Turkey has shown its true face again,’,he said. He also noted that there “was an attempt to institutionalize the so-called ‘Blue Homeland’, flights of Turkish fighter jets over Nicosia, harassment of aircraft carrying European Defence Ministers, violations and arrests in the buffer zone, threats against the territorial integrity of European countries.’
Addressing Sanchez Amor, Geadi pointed out that “it is a disgrace for Europe to talk about de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean and to present Turkey as a strategic a leading partner and ally,’ adding that ‘Ankara does not perceive leniency as an incentive for change, but as weakness.’
‘Turkey continues to occupy European territory, and this should bother all of you. If this is not a red line, then what exactly is it? What messages are we sending to those with expansionist ambitions towards Europe?,’ he asked.
‘We are not asking for special treatment for Cyprus. We are demanding equal treatment for Turkey. Europe cannot condemn the occupation in Ukraine and tolerate the occupation in Cyprus,’ he stressed.
On behalf of Renew, MEP Malik Azmani noted that Turkey and Erdogan have chosen their own path, citing Turkey’s actions in recent years as an example.
On behalf of the Greens, MEP Vladimir Prebilic said that Turkey is the country with the worst record in persecution and imprisonment. It is time for the EU to defend its principles and values, he pointed out.
On behalf of the Left, MEP Giorgos Georgiou said that the report ‘includes many truths, but in the end, it does not speak openly. This is the well-known EU recipe,’ he noted.
‘The reports on the Cyprus issue, the bizonal bicommunal federation, the rejection of the two-state solution, the return of Famagusta, the missing persons, the end of Turkey’s assimilation of Turkish Cypriots, the resumption of talks from the point where they were interrupted are important and positive,’ he stressed.
‘At the same time, Erdogan’s Turkey is sliding towards dictatorship. Democratic regression, non-existent rule of law, arrests, imprisonments, abolition of mayors, provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean’, he pointed out.
‘Turkey is considered an important strategic partner. It is already being offered participation in SAFE, high-level political dialogues, entry visas, the EIB has returned to Turkey and the upgrading of the customs union’, he said, adding that ‘defence and so-called security, armaments and economic interests outweigh political ethics’.
‘Let Turkey take from Europe. However, it must also give democracy to its citizens, respect for its neighbours and International Law and, above all, a resolution of the Cyprus problem with a fair and sustainable solution for the benefit of all Cypriots’, he underlined.
‘Now is the time for the EU to assist one of the last attempts to resolve the Cyprus problem before the bells of final partition ring,’ he noted.
On behalf of the Europe of Sovereign Nations, MEP Tomasz Froelich noted that ‘Turkey does not need the EU and we are to blame for that.’ Turkey sees that the EU is applying double standards, he pointed out, adding that discussions and negotiations should be stopped.
In her response, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, noted that the EU has not been negotiating with Turkey since 2018. At the same time, she expressed the desire to provide more money in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for civil society in Turkey.
EPP MEP Loucas Fourlas said that Turkey continues to illegally occupy European territory in Cyprus, continues to threaten Greece with war and continues to cause instability in the Eastern Mediterranean daily, noting that these are recorded in the report.
‘And yet, as the European Union, instead of demanding practical compliance, we are looking for ways to reward Ankara,’ he pointed out, adding that the report talks about an upgraded Customs Union and strengthening cooperation with Turkey in the field of Security and Defence.
‘The message we are sending is wrong and dangerous, that occupation, threats and aggression not only have no cost, but are also accompanied by European gifts,’ he stressed.
‘The message we must send is one and must be unanimous. This Turkey has no place in the European family,’ he noted.
Socialist and Democratic MEP, Costas Mavrides, said that ‘the report contains important references to the inhumane oppression by the Islamist Erdogan regime within Turkey as well as to Turkey’s relations with the EU.’
At the same time, he noted that ‘Turkey illegally occupies EU territory in the Republic of Cyprus, threatens Greece with war if it exercises its sovereign rights and now, with the doctrine of the ”Blue Fantasy” (and not the Blue Homeland), seeks to institutionally invade the sea from the Aegean to Cyprus.’
‘Instead of sanctions against the violator and occupier and enemy of the EU, the report gives Turkey a strategic role for Eurodefence, calls for an upgrade of trade relations with the EU without fulfilling its obligations to the EU and especially to the Republic of Cyprus’, he underlined, stressing that ‘Turkey is formally an ally in NATO and a real enemy of Europe’.
EPP MEP, Michalis Hadjipantela, stated that ‘fifty-two years after the Turkish invasion, my country remains under occupation. As refugees in our own country, we are deprived of the right to live freely, where we were born’, he pointed out.
At the same time, he noted that ‘Turkey is violating the basic principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law’, adding that ‘the country’s authoritarian regime is moving away from every European principle and value’.
‘Today, the United Nations is making a new effort to resume the talks. Unfortunately, the recent statements by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr. Fidan, on a two-state solution are torpedoing this process,’ he noted.
‘The European Union must exert the necessary pressure so that Turkey complies with its obligations and contributes substantially to the solution of the Cyprus problem, a problem of invasion and occupation,’ he underlined.
‘The Cypriot people deserve a free, secure and reunited homeland,’ he stressed.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.