The European Parliament (EP) Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday adopted a report rebuffing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s proposal to trade Sweden’s NATO bid for Turkey’s European Union (EU) membership, emphasising that the two processes are unrelated, stating that Turkey’s EU accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances and calling instead for a “realistic framework” for EU-Turkey relations in substitution.
The report paints a bleak picture of the democratic backsliding in Turkey, citing a “relentless crackdown on any critical voice, particularly ahead of and during the recent elections” that continued throughout 2022. It also expressed concern about the “lack of independence of the judiciary” and “serious restrictions on fundamental freedoms”, citing constant attacks on the fundamental rights of opposition members, lawyers, journalists, academics, civil society activists, Kurdish politicians, journalists, lawyers, artists and “the constant targeting and harassment of LGBTI+ people.”
The report also urged Turkey to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership as soon as possible, stating that any delay would only benefit Russia. The EP Foreign Affairs Committee also stated that the NATO accession process of one country cannot be linked to the EU accession process of another in a press release issued on Tuesday.
Nacho Sanchez Amor, the EP’s Turkey rapporteur, stated after his report was accepted by the EP Foreign Affairs Committee, “We have recently seen a renewed interest from the Turkish government in reviving the EU accession process. This will not happen as a result of geopolitical bargaining, but when Turkish authorities show real interest in stopping the continuous backsliding in fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.”
Sanchez Amor, a passionate Spanish democratic socialist, has been an outspoken critic of the agreement announced by Erdoğan, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the 11th hour at NATO’s Vilnius summit last week. Under this agreement, Turkey pledged to support Sweden’s bid for membership of NATO and in return, Sweden, an EU member, promised to back Erdoğan’s efforts to revive Turkey’s stalled EU accession. After Stoltenberg expressed his support for Turkey’s EU membership, Sanchez Amor responded with a sharp tweet, questioning whether Stoltenberg had been appointed EU enlargement commissioner.
The EP report urged the Turkish government, the EU and member states to “break the current deadlock”, and called on the European Commission to explore “possible formats for a mutually appealing framework”.
In addition, the report supported the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia, and encouraged Turkey to recognise the Armenian Genocide to pave the way for genuine reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian peoples.
The EP report maintained that while they urge Turkey and the EU to break the current deadlock, Turkey’s bid for membership cannot go further without Turkey taking serious steps to abide by EU laws, principles and obligations, particularly in respecting democratic values, the rule of law and human rights.
