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In a statement on Tuesday, the European Union noted that “Turkey’s accession negotiations to the world’s largest trading bloc should not be accelerated due to its failure to comply with democratic standards, protect the independence of its courts and effectively combat corruption.”
In a scathing report on Turkey’s pursuit of membership in the European Union, the European Commission said: “The Turkish authorities continue to pressure civil society, aid groups and the media, emphasizing that political power is still concentrated in the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “
“The report presented confirms that the basic facts that led to this assessment remain, despite the government’s repeated commitment to the goal of joining the European Union,” said the commission that manages and oversees the membership talks on behalf of the 27 member states.
He noted that the “negative effects” of the state of emergency imposed by Erdogan after the failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, raised two years ago, are still being felt today.
The Commission stated that “political power is concentrated in the hands of the Turkish president, and that the judiciary does not enjoy independence, as well as the deterioration of conditions in prisons.”
The report criticizes “the Turkish conflict in the eastern Mediterranean with the two member states of the European Union, Greece and Cyprus, and the role they play in Libya and Syria.”
The report noted that “Turkey’s foreign policy” is increasingly clashing with the priorities of the European Union, “according to the” Associated Press. “
