Turkey moving away from EU values, standards
In a vote at the European Parliament on Tuesday on a report that warned Turkey has repeatedly gone back on its commitments in relation to the EU accession process, despite repeated statements that it aims to become a member-state, an overwhelming majority of 448 MEPs voted in favor in contrast to 67 against. There were 107 abstentions.
The report dealt a blow to Turkey in terms of its performance in the field of human rights and the rule of law, while also noting that its stance toward “neighboring EU member-states remains challenging.”
MEPs noted that despite some signs of de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean since the latest Parliament report on Turkey, there has recently been a new upsurge. They expressed regret over the recent statements by Turkish officials questioning Greek sovereignty, saying they are counterproductive and undermine the security environment in the region.
MEPs said that Parliament cannot at this stage justify modifying its position concerning the formal suspension of the accession negotiations with Turkey, which have effectively been at a standstill since 2018.
With regard to Turkish objections to Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO applications, MEPs stressed that it is important that all NATO allies act with foresight and swiftly ratify the accession protocols of the two countries.
