EU: Turkey’s EU accession process cannot resume without drastic change 

The annual report on Turkey for 2022, adopted by the European Parliament during its session, has been published. The report, which raises many issues related to human rights violations in Turkey, highlights the concerns caused by the Kurdish question and calls for the resumption of a ‘solution process’ involving all political parties. 

Kurdish question

The EU deplores the targeting of political parties and members of the opposition, who have come under increasing pressure, and underlines its particular concern about the continuing crackdown on Kurdish politicians, journalists, lawyers and artists, including the mass arrests prior to the elections and the ongoing closure case against the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).   

The approved report notes the EU’s concern about the Kurdish question and the urgency of the resumption of a credible political process involving all parties concerned and democratic forces with a view to a peaceful solution of the problem. The EU calls on the Turkish government to move in that direction by promoting dialogue and reconciliation and added that it was alarmed about the severe and worsening repression of the Kurdish community, particularly in the south-east of the country, including further curtailment of cultural rights and legal restrictions on the use of Kurdish as a language of instruction in education.

The illegal Turkish occupation of Syria

The report also addresses Turkey’s military interventions in Syria and its illegal occupation of areas in northern Syria. The EU denounces the fact that Turkey and local Syrian groups for violating with impunity the rights and restricting the freedoms of civilians in Turkish-occupied areas. The EU says that it regrets that the occupation has been accompanied by the displacement of large parts of the population, whose return to this day is impossible due to the Turkish occupiers and their allied local Islamist militias, and reiterates that a new ground incursion in Syria would have grave implications for international security. 

It also expresses concern about Turkey’s air strikes in Syria and Iraq, in particular in Sinjar, home to the Yazidi population genocided by ISIS in 2014, and its continued military presence on Iraqi territory. The EU says in its call: “The EU reiterates that civilian populations should never be the victim of military self-defense and calls on the Turkish authorities to exercise restraint in full respect of international standards.”

Press workers under pressure   

According to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Turkey ranks 165th among 180 countries. The EU condemns the continued persecution, censorship and harassment of journalists and independent media in Turkey and is concerned about the targeting of journalists and political opponents from Turkey residing in the EU. The report calls on the Turkish authorities to allow civil society organizations, lawyers and other legal representatives and the media to operate in accordance with their duties and within their scope and to exercise their profession freely, in order to provide for a healthier democracy and society.

Lack of judicial independence

The EU condemns the lack of judicial independence and the political instrumentalization of the judicial system in Turkey. The report states: “The EU stresses that this area is of highest concern to the EU, as independence of the judiciary represents the keystone of a functioning democratic system that works in the service and for the benefit of the population; expects that all sectors of organized Turkish society will have the possibility to carry out their work and activities freely, as this could strengthen Turkish democracy; expresses concern about reports of excessive violence being perpetrated against prisoners; strongly stresses the need to ensure the humane treatment of all prisoners in accordance with basic human rights.”

Ten billion euros support for Turkey

Commissioner Várhelyi made some remarks on the 2022 annual report on Turkey in the Plenary Session of the European Parliament. Speaking on migration, he expressed that the EU is grateful for Turkey’s work over the past years in hosting four million refugees from Syria, saying: “By now, the EU has been bringing in ten billion euros of support. I just signed a flagship project of 781 million euros, which provides cash to cover the basic needs of 2 million refugees in Türkiye.” 

The report concludes that Turkey’s EU accession process cannot be relaunched in the current circumstances without a drastic change of course by the Turkish government. The report also stresses that Turkey is expected to respect democratic values, rule of law and human rights and to comply with the EU acquis.