Cyprus Mail 7 June 2022 - by Cyprus News Agency
The level of human rights in Turkey is “pathetic”, the rapporteur of the European Parliament’s report on Turkey, Nacho Sanchez Amor, said during a debate on the report on the first day of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday.
He also spoke of “deliberate regression from the previous situation”.
“I do not believe that Turkey ‘s accession negotiations will survive for the next five years,” he said, adding that the unpredictability of Turkish behaviour is leading Turkey to isolation.
European Vicinity and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varheli said Turkey is still moving away from the EU, adding the European Commission worries about the rule of law and human rights in Turkey and that it will continue to support civil society and democracy in the country.
Varheli also pointed out that the biggest challenge is the unresolved Cyprus issue and called on Turkey to stop provocations in Varosha and return to dialogue. “We call on Turkey to side with the EU on sanctions imposed on Russia,” he said. “Turkey is a key partner, but we cannot justify its setbacks,” he added.
On behalf of the European People’s Party, Georgy Vlad Nistor stated that Ankara is playing a diplomatic and political game and that its actions against Cyprus and Greece “are beyond imagination”.
On behalf of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP, Maria Arena stressed that 87 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey and that students protesting in favour of LGBTQI rights are arrested.
“Turkey is not in line with European democratic principles,” she said. On behalf of the Renew Europe Group, Malik Azmani pointed out that things will get worse as we approach the elections in Turkey. A red line is the Turkish veto to Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, he said, adding that Turkey should not become a tax haven for Russia’s economic interests.
On behalf of the Group of the Greens, Sergei Lagodinsky raised the issue of Turkey’s credibility as a defence partner. In addition, he noted that Turkey’s attitude towards Sweden and Finland is a “solidarity issue”, while he also spoke about Turkey’s aggressive attitude towards EU member states. “We are slowly losing faith in Turkey’s European future,” he added.
On behalf of the Identity and Democracy Group, Nikolaus Fest stressed that things are getting worse for Turkey. At the same time, he raised the question of what else is needed to draw the right conclusions. He also called for a halt to Turkey’s accession talks while Erdogan is in power.
On behalf of the group of European Conservatives and Reformists, Emmanuel Frangos described Turkey as an “extremist state” and suggested that the policy of equal distances is a bomb in the foundations of Europe.
Interventions by the Cypriot MEPs
On behalf of the Left Group in the European Parliament, George Georgiou said that some Europeans pretend to see light in the tunnel of Euro-Turkish relations and place Turkey on the right side of history. He also said that Turkey did in Cyprus, 48 years ago, what Russia did in Ukraine, continues to illegally occupy European territory and is operating in a revisionist manner against Greece. “Over values and law, geopolitical interests and competitions to the detriment of the peoples are paramount,” Georgiou concluded.
Lefteris Christoforou of the European People’s Party said that the EU does not tolerate any invader and should not tolerate Turkey that does not respect any EU values. The EU should not consider the invader as a strategic partner, he concluded.
Loucas Fourlas of the European People’s Party noted that Erdogan’s Turkey has nothing to do with the European edifice. “How much longer will we pretend that Turkey has a place next to democratic European societies?” he asked, adding that if we were serving values rather than interests, we would not even be discussing a progress report on Turkey today.
Demetris Papadakis of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP said that some within the European family want to believe that Turkey respects the human rights of its citizens, does not imprison anyone who disagrees, has good relations with its neighbours, does not provoke tensions and does not occupy European territories by force. Their purpose is to serve the economic interests of their countries, he concluded.
Costas Mavrides of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP, spoke of neo-Ottoman expansionism, indicating that the EU followed the policy of appeasement that feeds the Turkish beast. In Russia, six packages of sanctions were properly imposed, but in Turkey not one, he added. In closing, Mavrides called for a ban on arms sales to Turkey, withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus, and Turkey’s denunciation to the World Trade Organisation.
UPDATE:
With 448 votes in favour, 67 against and 107 abstentions out of a total of 662 votes, the progress report on Turkey was adopted by the European Parliament plenary on Tuesday afternoon.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, MEPs, among others, call on Turkey to withdraw the proposal for a two-state solution and to refrain from unilateral actions that consolidate the permanent partition, condemning the signing of the economic and financial "protocol" with the Turkish Cypriot side, as well as the continuation of the violation of UNSC resolutions on Varosha.
As a Spokesperson of the European Parliament told the CNA envoy in Strasbourg, the new elements contained in this year's report on Turkey concern human rights and rule of law issues in the context of the accession negotiations, as well as the country's veto of Sweden's and Finland's accession to NATO.
The report, drafted as rapporteur by MEP Nacho Sanchez Amor (Social Democrats, Spain), notes that there has been no improvement in the country in terms of respect for fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law, while the country is called upon to manage in good faith the applications of Sweden and Finland for membership in NATO.
As the report emphasises, among other things, despite the statements made by Turkey that accession to the EU remains the country's objective, the last two years have seen a continuous setback in terms of its commitments.
While welcoming the recent, small improvement in EU-Turkey relations, including through high-level dialogues, MEPs point out that at the same time the country's relationship with neighbouring EU member states remains a challenge.
In this context, specific references are made to the recent statements in which Turkish officials question Greece's sovereignty, while MEPs call on all sides to make a sincere effort to negotiate on the demarcation of the EEZs in the region and condemn the harassment of research vessels in the Cyprus EEZ and the violations of Greek national airspace.
CNA
