Leaders of Two European Parliament Factions Call for Suspension of Turkey's Membership Negotiations

Leaders of two main factions in the European Parliament called on the European Union on Tuesday, December 2, to halt negotiations regarding Turkey's membership in the union due to a wave of repression and purges following the failed coup in July. According to Reuters, Manfred Weber, head of the largest faction in the European Parliament composed of center-right parties, stated, "Our message to Turkey is very clear: negotiations regarding its membership must be stopped immediately." Gianni Pittella, leader of the second faction in the European Parliament, composed of socialist and center-left parties, also said, "We demand the suspension of negotiations regarding Turkey's membership." Following the failed coup in July, the Turkish government has purged and dismissed over 110,000 civil servants, including military personnel, judges and prosecutors, journalists, academics, local officials, and Kurdish politicians, accusing them of supporting the coup. Approximately 36,000 people have also been arrested, and several media outlets have been shut down. Gianni Pittella stated, "Turkey has moved towards an autocratic regime under the rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Our political message to Turkey is that if it wants to become a member of the European Union, issues such as human rights, civil rights, and democracy are non-negotiable." In response to the intensified criticism from the EU regarding his government's human rights record, Erdoğan has said that "the union must accept the consequences of its stance" and that if Turkey's membership negotiations are halted, Ankara will join military and security pacts led by Russia and China. The widespread crackdown following the failed coup has soured Turkey's relations with the EU. A few months prior to these events, Turkey and the EU had reached an agreement to expedite Turkey's membership negotiations in exchange for controlling the wave of migrants heading to Europe and facilitating visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to Europe. This area of cooperation between Turkey and the EU is still ongoing, but some EU officials believe it may be affected by the deterioration of relations between the two sides. Erdoğan, who accuses the EU of failing to understand Turkey's dire conditions during the coup days, has stated that he will put Turkey's EU membership negotiations to a referendum next year. The Turkish government is still hopeful of reaching an agreement regarding visa-free travel for its citizens to the EU, but achieving this agreement before the end of the current calendar year seems unlikely. Among EU member states, Austria and Luxembourg have called for the suspension of negotiations for Turkey's membership. These negotiations have made little progress over the past eleven years. However, France, Germany, and other EU member states support continuing the negotiations, believing that halting them could jeopardize the EU-Turkey agreement on migration control. Nevertheless, they emphasize that if the death penalty is reinstated in Turkey, these negotiations will come to an end.