Reaction to EU report: Turkey accuses EU of “baseless allegations”

Turkey’s accession negotiations with the EU have been paralyzed for years. In its latest report on Turkey, the EU Commission has now also confirmed that the country is stepping backwards in many areas. The Turkish leadership is angry.

The Turkish government is irritated by the latest report by the EU Commission. Unacceptable – that was the reaction of Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy party leader of the ruling AKP. “None of the aspects listed in this report should be taken seriously in our view,” he said. “The EU Commission just publishes such reports. They have no value. In our eyes they are null and void.”

The EU Commission criticized the presidential system for giving the president too much power and for no longer ensuring the separation of powers. The government is foaming that Europe cannot treat Turkey like a schoolchild.

You must not hold your index finger up and give lessons to a country that is on its way to full membership. Once upon a time, people dealt with Turkey in such a way that they say: Stand on one leg in the corner, do your homework, then we might think again about taking a picture.

As a sovereign country, Turkey is ready to negotiate on an equal footing with the EU, but cannot and will not allow the Union to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.

Turkey accuses the EU of double standards

The Turkish Foreign Ministry attests the EU Commission double standards. In the 2016 agreement, it was finally agreed that the EU must advance the expansion of the customs union with Turkey. There was also no progress on the question of visa-free visa for Turks in the EU. The ministry responded in a written communication that the EU was proceeding by two standards.

At a time when Turkey has been trying to create a positive political agenda with the European Union and in which it has resumed high-level dialogue, a report is regrettably being published that not only reflects the duties and responsibilities of the EU towards Turkey overlooked, but in relations with Turkey “once again with two standards”: “In particular, the baseless allegations and the unjustified criticism of the political criteria, the judiciary and fundamental rights are unacceptable from our point of view.”

Downgraded to a country report

The report, which was called the progress report until last year, is now entitled “Country Report”. Journalist Zeynep Gürcanli from the Düyna newspaper finds this telling. “Only when it comes to migration and flight does Turkey come off well. We thank you a thousand times for the acceptance of 3.6 million Syrians and another 300,000 refugees,” she says.

The EU Commission also comes to the conclusion that the special rights that state authorities, the police and the judiciary have had since the attempted coup in 2016 have restricted democracy and fundamental rights. This is also criticized by Frank Schwabe, spokesman for human rights and humanitarian aid for the SPD parliamentary group.

“I believe that the question of the rule of law, democracy and human rights must always be a topic of conversation between Germany and Turkey,” says Schwabe. The implementation of court judgments is fundamental. “We have to insist. And I personally do that very much.”