President of the European Commission: Turkey is drifting further away from Europe every day

Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, states that purges, the detention of political opponents, and the seizure of media are pushing Turkey further away from Europe every day, creating a sentiment that the country no longer desires EU membership. On November 9, he said, 'I am a friend of Turkey, and I bitterly witness that Turkey is drifting further away from Europe every day.' Juncker also called for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to clearly state whether he wants his country to join the European Union. He added that the lack of access for Turkish citizens to visa-free travel to Europe is solely due to Erdoğan and his policies. The visa waiver for Turkish citizens, alongside accelerating negotiations for Turkey's EU membership and a multi-billion euro aid package, was part of recent negotiations and agreements reached between Brussels and Ankara, which were supposed to lead to Turkey curbing the mass departure of refugees to Europe. Recently, Turkish security forces have detained several members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), one of the main opposition parties to Erdoğan, which also supports the Kurdish population in the country. Leaders of this party are among those detained. This situation, along with ongoing purges, media shutdowns, and the detention of some journalists, has faced criticism from the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States government. Erdoğan himself, in a television speech on November 7, stated that he does not care if he is called a 'dictator' and accused European countries of aiding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 'terrorism.' Juncker stated that it is time for the Turkish President to explain to his people why they cannot travel freely to European countries like other European citizens: 'because he has not fulfilled the commitments we agreed upon.' Juncker's remarks come ahead of a new EU report on the status of Turkey's membership negotiations, which is set to be published on November 10. In this context, the United Nations and the EU condemned the detention of HDP leaders in Turkey, and the HDP has suspended its parliamentary activities in Turkey.