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Turkey censures draft European report on Ankara’s accession to EU

This file photo, taken on November 29, 2015, shows the Turkish national flag (L) and the European Union (EU) flag in Brussels. (By AFP)

Turkey has denounced as “unacceptable” a draft report by a key European Parliament committee that calls for the suspension of negotiations with Ankara for accession to the European Union (EU).

In a draft advisory report, the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee called on the European Commission and EU member states to formally suspend years-long accession talks with Turkey, citing numerous alleged human rights violations in the country as well as the conduct of its judiciary system.

The report is expected to be voted on by the entire European Parliament in mid-March.

“The call in the draft report — which is not legally binding and bears only the status of an advisory decision — to officially suspend our country’s accession negotiations with the EU is absolutely unacceptable,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement on Wednesday.

Aksoy said the draft report exemplified the 28-member bloc’s biased attitude toward Turkey, adding that Ankara would push for its amendment.

“We expect the necessary changes to be made for a more realistic, unbiased, and encouraging final report, which will be accepted in March at the European Parliament’s general assembly,” the official said, stressing that, “Only such a report will be taken into consideration by our country.”

The draft advisory report censured Ankara for allegedly undermining human rights and civil liberties, also accusing the Turkish government of influencing the judiciary and engaging in territorial disputes with neighboring countries.

Committee members said that such policies, in combination with changes in the country’s governing system, had made Turkey’s accession to the EU impossible at this stage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested in October last year that the EU was being insincere in its accession talks with Turkey.

Relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained for several years, especially after the July 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan, which Ankara says was masterminded by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The EU has often criticized the crackdown and alleged attacks on freedom of speech in the wake of the botched putsch, in which tens of thousands of people, including journalists, were arrested.

Ankara, in return, has accused Brussels of being inattentive to the security threats faced by Turkey.

The Turkish government has also rejected any offer of partnership with the EU that falls short of full membership.


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