| EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn |
Turkey rejects any proposals to drop European Union accession talks in favour of cooperation in other areas, its EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said on Thursday ahead of a European Parliament vote on suspending Turkey’s membership bid.
Speaking during a visit to Ankara by EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, Celik said it was wrong for EU lawmakers to call for the suspension of Turkey’s membership talks, adding such approaches did not benefit anyone.
“We reject with the back of our hand any proposals that there should be strong cooperation between Turkey and the EU in other areas instead of accession talks,” Celik told reporters.
On Wednesday, EU lawmakers called for a suspension of Turkey’s membership talks with the European Union, saying President Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on opponents meant Ankara did not meet the bloc’s democratic criteria.
A vote on the proposal is expected to pass comfortably on Thursday, but the parliament has limited influence on the issue. The European Commission and EU governments have ignored calls for a formal suspension of a process already in limbo.
Striking a more conciliatory tone, Hahn said he hoped the interaction between the two sides would lead to a higher level of political dialogue.
“I don’t know what will be decided, but I have to stress that the European Parliament is one of the institutions elected by the European citizens. Members of the European Parliament represent the view of their voters,” Hahn said.
EU leaders have been critical of Erdogan and his behaviour toward opponents, both before and after an abortive coup against him a year ago. But they do not want to undermine an agreement struck last year whereby Turkey effectively stopped migrants reaching Greece, easing a crisis that had threatened EU unity.
Celik said Turkey had noted the bloc’s criticism regarding its judiciary and freedom of press and expression, but added the EU was blocking the process by not opening new chapters.
“When Turkey is the question, the fact that there are pre-conditions even for opening new chapters shows there are political reasons here,” he said.