European Parliament condemns Turkey over German MPs’ immunity
The European parliament is outraged at the lifting of Turkish opposition MPs' immunity. However, only a few voices are urging a tough response and the end of accession negotiations. Deutsche Welle reports, citing its correspondent from reports from Strasbourg.
Speaking before the European Parliament, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said that the European Commission was "seriously concerned" about the Turkish parliament's decision to lift the parliamentary immunity of 138 Turkish opposition MPs.
The fact that Hahn was the one to convey this message, not Federica Mogherini, the EU's representative for foreign affairs, or Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who is, after all, the one currently leading the negotiations with Ankara, shows that Brussels would rather play down this tiresome subject. After all, it still has to salvage the remains of the refugee agreement – and "Turkey is a key partner in the management of migration."
What next for the accession negotiations?
Hahn went on to deliver a brief lesson in democracy for beginners, explaining that the immunity of members of parliament may not be lifted in order to exert political pressure. He also appealed to Turkey to return to the path of convergence with European values. The commissioner still sees accession negotiations, especially the section on justice, as the best means of making clear to Turkey that it is on the wrong path, because the one it is following is undemocratic.
Following this rather weak speech, the CDU representative Renate Sommer was more forthright. Turkey was on its way to becoming a "presidential dictatorship," she said; the Kurdish opposition – and not only this – was being silenced, the whole thing was a "drama for Turkey, but an even bigger drama for the EU," because it needed the country to be a reliable partner. Now, though, Sommer said, Europe had to react and "put accession negotiations on hold."
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