The opposition’s victory was a breath of fresh air for the membership process

Strasbourg, France/T24

European Union Parliament (EP) Türkiye Rapporteur Nacho Sanchez AmorHe said that he thought that the fact that CHP became the first party ahead of AKP in the March 31 local elections in Turkey and won many important municipalities was positive for Turkey’s membership process.

Amor, who came together with the managers of national publications and diplomatic correspondents at the AP building in Strasbourg, “At least in my view, the opposition’s unexpected victory paradoxically created a better environment for the membership process.” said.

Amor, “The opposition’s victory gave a breather to the membership process, which was in intensive care and artificially kept alive.” he commented.

“It is a fact that the regime in Turkey is trending toward authoritarianism.” Emphasizing Amor, “We don’t know what will happen in 5-10 years.” He pointed out that he believes that Turkey’s EU membership process can accelerate in the event of a possible change of government.

Emphasizing that the opposition did not compete with the AKP on fair terms and won the elections despite this, Amor stated that he was surprised that the opposition parties did not make more efforts to announce this situation to the world.

“It is clear that the AKP is responsible for this state of democracy in Turkey.” Amor said, “The problems with Turkey’s image are completely Erdogan “It’s about ’cause we don’t see any faces other than his.” he said.

Amor pointed out that although opinions in favor of terminating Turkey’s membership process have been frequently voiced in Strasbourg in recent years, a vote in this direction in the European Parliament has never come close to being successful. Amor, “This shows that we prefer to keep Turkey as a candidate country, even though we have increased concerns about Ankara’s domestic policy and we continue to have very serious concerns about the divergence in foreign policy.” said.

On the other hand, Amor is widely used in Turkey. “Europe needs Turkey” He said that his statement did not reflect the truth: “Forget that logic. The EU is still a club of democracies. It needs to be democracy in everything. “The fact that your drones and flags are so majestic does not change the fact that you have never been a member of the EU.”

Amor said that with the membership process stalled and Turkey moving away from the Copenhagen Criteria, the EU is increasingly choosing it as a ‘3rd country’ instead of a candidate country. He stated that it started to be seen as a ‘country’. The EU uses this expression for countries such as Egypt, with which it does not conduct membership negotiations but has institutional cooperation. Amor stated that he did not see any political will in Turkey regarding the reforms required for EU membership. “This applies to every branch of your relations with Europe. “You are a founding member of the Council of Europe, but you do not implement the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.” he said.

Nacho Sanchez Amor

Criticism of trustee

Amor also criticized AKP’s trustee practices towards mayors elected in the southeastern provinces in the past:

“You have a practice that allows you to replace the elected mayor with someone else who is not from that party. Can you understand what a shock this is to us? If someone has legal problems, that person should only be replaced by someone from the party that won the election. You should see how far from democracy this is. “60 mayors of the opposition party, which is the third party, are being dismissed and the governors are appointing a name to replace them on the orders of Ankara.”

‘Swedish and Finnish vetoes gained nothing for Turkey’

Amor stated that it was a big mistake for Turkey to block Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership for a long time while Russia’s occupation of Ukraine continued. “Many countries will not forget this” he expressed:

Stating that what was done benefited Russia ‘even if it was not the intention’ while the state of war continued, Amor said that Turkey was trying to gain benefits by blocking memberships and in this process brought up the purchase of F-16s from the USA.

The rapporteur stated that Turkey’s long-held veto decision did not gain anything for Ankara and only deepened the crisis of trust with the West.

Amor, “We talk about lack of trust because you become an unreliable partner. “Democracies are boring and predictable.” said.

‘In the current situation, a new chapter will never be opened’

Amor emphasized that unless there is a serious positive change in the democratic situation, Turkey and the EU will “in no way” open a new chapter in the negotiation process. The rapporteur said that if Turkey wants to take a step that will be seen as positive towards membership, the ECHRsman kavala And Selahattin demirtaşHe stated that he should implement his decisions regarding his release.

Amor also expressed his discomfort about the EU’s very broad concept of terrorism in Turkish law, as is often the case. Sharing an anecdote on this subject, Amor said that former Minister of Internal Affairs Suleyman Soylu in a meeting with “If you really want to be understood, if you want our help against real terrorists, please stop calling anyone who criticizes anyone, from students to academics, as terrorists.” he said.

“I have always taken care not to be used by Gulenists. “Since I knew the sensitivity of the issue, I was careful in every contact.” Amor said, “However, I have to ask this: When did the Gülenists become a terrorist organization? Coup night? In the sledgehammer case? When AKP filled Gulenists from ministries to prosecutor’s office and police? “Who was the friend of the Gulenists when they were used to replace pro-Europeans like the Kemalist elite?” he continued.

Emphasizing that the EU does not have a responsibility to ’embrace Turkey and drag it to the path of democracy’, Amor said that Brussels and Strasbourg can only encourage Turkey.

European Parliament building

‘I understand that you are not satisfied with the final declaration’

The leaders of the EU member states decided that the proposals regarding Turkey in the Joint Declaration on EU-Turkey relations at the summit held last week would first be discussed at the EU Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) level and that peace talks in Cyprus should be held in order to further develop EU-Turkey cooperation. He emphasized that it is important to start again and make progress. While the decisions created disappointment in Ankara, the text caused comments such as “The future of Turkey-EU relations depends on Cyprus”.

“I can understand your dissatisfaction with the declaration” Amor stated that the statements in the declaration are part of the trend of Turkey being seen by the EU as a 3rd country instead of a candidate country. Amor stated that the article regarding Cyprus was added by the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, which is a member of the EU, to emphasize the stance of the country. The rapporteur also stated that he thinks it is wrong to consider that with this article, Turkey’s path to developing relations with the EU is entirely dependent on a solution in Cyprus.