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Loud
calls in Parliament for ending EU membership talks with Turkey
The
fraying of ties comes at a particularly sensitive time for Brussels.
By DAVID M.
HERSZENHORN 11/22/16, 8:13 PM CET Updated 11/23/16, 6:15 AM CET
With relations
between the EU and Turkey already deeply strained, a broad coalition
of members of the European Parliament Tuesday called for ending EU
membership talks with Ankara as punishment for a trampling of
democratic freedoms and human rights by Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan following a failed coup attempt last July.
The fraying of ties
comes at a particularly sensitive time for Brussels, with the EU
relying on Turkey to keep up its end of an agreement on the return of
migrants who have sought refuge in Europe.
While an unraveling
of that deal could create acute political problems in capitals across
the Continent, many members of Parliament called for ending the
arrangement, saying Erdoğan was using it as a tool of “blackmail.”
Leaders of the biggest factions in the Parliament also called for
ending the discussions with Turkey about EU membership.
“Continuing the
illusion of accession talks with a regime that becomes more and more
authoritarian,” said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats for Europe. “We are losing credibility.”
Syed Kamall,
president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, said it
was time for the EU to recognize reality. “The EU continues to
pretend that it’s business as usual with Turkey,” Kamall said.
“But we can all see the current relationship is not working.” He
added: “Let us build a new relationship based not necessarily on EU
membership but on cooperation.”
“It is surprising
to see this threat now that Turkey will build alliances with Russia
and China and play them off Europe — I think that doesn’t
constitute respect” — Manfred Weber
Gianni Pittella, the
leader of the Socialists and Democrats Group, said: “Even a group
like the Socialists and Democrats Group which has always been, and is
still, very much in favor of Turkish accession, we are in favor of
freezing accession talks. Not interrupting them. We want these talks
to be frozen to send a strong political signal to Erdoğan.”
With Parliament set
to vote on a resolution on the Turkish issue on Thursday, the EU’s
foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, cautioned Parliament that
ending the membership talks with Turkey would be a mistake.
“Foreign policy is
about building win-win solutions,” Mogherini said in an opening
statement at the start of Tuesday’s debate in Strasbourg. “If the
accession process came to an end, I believe we would both find
ourselves in a lose-lose scenario. Europe would lose an important
channel for dialogue and leverage with Turkey. Turkey would lose a
lot. And we would all lose an opportunity for greater friendship and
cooperation among our peoples.”
Her message,
however, did not seem particularly well-received.
Erdoğan has accused
European leaders of condescension and on Sunday was quoted by Turkish
media as saying that his country might be better served by joining
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a strategic alliance led by
Russia and China, rather than the European Union.
The Shanghai group,
however, does not offer anywhere near the potential economic benefits
of EU membership. Nor would it provide the visa-free travel regime
that is widely desired among the Turkish public.
As a result,
Erdoğan’s comments met with little more than annoyance in the
European Parliament.
“It is surprising
to see this threat now that Turkey will build alliances with Russia
and China and play them off Europe — I think that doesn’t
constitute respect,” said Manfred Weber, head of the European
People’s Party MEPs. “Turkey needs Europe and needs good
relations,” Weber said. “There are 10 times more Turkish exports
to Europe than there are to Russia and China put together.”
Martina Michels, a
German MEP from the Group of the European United Left — Nordic
Green Left, was among the speakers who called for ending the migrant
deal with Turkey. Michels also accused the EU of not reacting
strongly enough to the erosion of democracy in Turkey. “The
Commission and Council were looking the other way,” Michels said.
Authors:
David M. Herszenhorn
|
Britain
can't pick and choose Brexit deal, MEPs say
By ALEKSANDRA
ERIKSSON
BRUSSELS, 22. NOV,
20:53
The European
Parliament will not accept an EU-UK deal that hurts the free flow of
people within the EU single market, parliamentary leaders clearly
stated after meeting with British Brexit minister David Davis on
Tuesday (23 November).
"It is
impossible to find a solution that would destroy the so-called four
freedoms," said Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal group
and the parliament's coordinator on Brexit.
"The freedom of
movement of goods, services, capital and of people are the basic
element of the European Union. We will certainly never accept
whatever development where these four freedoms are put at risk,"
he told journalists.
Meanwhile, another
MEP questioned whether the Brits had grasped this message.
"Today in my
talks with Mr Davis I didn’t hear anything new, rather the
contrary," said Manfred Weber, leader of the parliament’s
largest political group, centre-right EPP.
He said that instead
of presenting an exit strategy, the British government insisted on
what it wanted to keep from the EU, particularly access to the single
market and home affairs and justice cooperation.
"They still
don't know what Brexit means," Weber said. "That means
leaving the European Union, that means cutting off relations - not
cherry-picking, not special relationships."
David Davis, for his
part, said that Tuesday's meetings had been "a good start".
Asked if the British
government aimed to stay in the single market after leaving the EU,
he said: "What we are after is an outcome which will be in the
interest of the European Union and in the interest of Britain and
will meet the requirements of the referendum."
It was the first
time that Davis met with the parliament’s leaders since Britain
voted to leave the EU in June.
They are bound to
meet more regularly in the future.
Verhofstadt said
Britain must finalise its divorce from the European Union before the
next elections to the European Parliament in 2019, even if that left
very little time.
The UK government
plans to launch the exit talks before the end of March 2017, although
the timing could be delayed by a legal challenge in the UK, requiring
Britain’s parliament to be consulted, which the government has
appealed.
The European
Parliament, which is not directly involved in the negotiations but
must consent to the resulting Brexit agreement, would submit its
requests on the EU negotiating mandate in late March or early April,
Verhofstadt said.
If EU leaders issue
a final mandate by late April or May, the European Commission would
have its position ready by the end of 2017.
The current
legislative mandate runs out in May 2019.
"That only
leaves a 14-15 months window," Verhofstadt said, noting that the
parliament would need a couple months after the negotiations are
concluded to provide its consent.
"It will be
hectic," he added.
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