- Title: Turkey's EU candidacy hangs in the balance, top official says
- Date: 9th November 2016
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (NOVEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EU COMMISSION BUILDING SIGN ON WALL READING (French/Dutch): "European Commission" EU FLAG / EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY AND ENLARGEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, JOHANNES HAHN, LISTENING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY AND ENLARGEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "So now Turkey is candidate (for EU Membership) and to be candidate means they have to accept that we apply other, higher standards than with many other of our neighbours and partner countries around the world. This is - so to say - the difference. And this has to be accepted by Turkey and if they don't want to accept it, in the future they have to draw their consequences, yes? But one cannot negotiate - so to say - democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of press." HAHN SPEAKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY AND ENLARGEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "It is certainly not heading into the European direction." HAHN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY AND ENLARGEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "If you take the magnitude of people being sacked, laid-off, arrested, it's hard to understand that all of them are really in one or the other way related to the coup but, anyhow, what we are asking for is simply to have proper follow-up according (to) rule of law standards and really to assess each individual case." HAHN AND JOURNALIST TALKING HAHN'S HAND (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY AND ENLARGEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "There are clear conditions. It's also about our credibility. We have asked Georgia or Ukraine to fulfil conditions. They have done it. So in that respect, there is equal treatment for everybody and therefore Turkey has to deliver on this and if they are doing so we will give a positive report, (but) for the time being, it doesn't look like this will happen very soon." HAHN WITH JOURNALIST
- Embargoed: 24th November 2016 11:03
- Keywords: EU European Commission Hahn Neighbourhood Policy Turkey Erdogan Brussels Belgium visa rule of law
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00157Q56X3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The European Union said on Wednesday (November 9) in its annual assessment of candidate states' progress on meeting membership criteria that Turkey has rolled back the independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression and other fundamental democratic standards since the failed July coup, making its EU membership prospects ever more distant.
Turkey's long quest to join the European Union could end in failure unless Ankara reverses its post-coup clamp-down on civil rights, press freedom and the judiciary, the bloc's top official in charge of ties with Turkey said on Tuesday (November 8) in an interview to Reuters embargoed until Wednesday.
While Ankara is a crucial ally in Brussels' efforts to stop migrants reaching Europe, the European Commission, which handles the bloc's expansion, fears Turkey is becoming increasingly authoritarian, concerned about the viability of its EU bid.
As the Commission published on Wednesday its most annual critical report yet of Turkey's progress in joining the bloc, Hahn said the democratic values he saw as central for any country to join the European Union were not up for negotiation.
"So now Turkey is candidate (for EU Membership) and to be candidate means they have to accept that we apply other, higher standards than with many other of our neighbours and partner countries around the world. This is - so to say - the difference. And this has to be accepted by Turkey and if they don't want to accept it, in the future they have to draw their consequences, yes? But one cannot negotiate - so to say - democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of press," European Commissioner Johannes Hahn told Reuters in an interview.
"It is certainly not heading in the European direction," Hahn added, voicing incomprehension at the scale of President Tayyip Erdogan's purge of judges, teachers and the military following a July coup attempt in Turkey.
The accession of Turkey, a member of the NATO Western military alliance, has been a difficult issue since talks were formally launched in 2005, 18 years after it applied to join.
Political obstacles, notably over Cyprus and long-standing resistance to membership of a large Muslim country in Germany and France, have stalled the process despite several attempts to relaunch it, most notably in March when the EU sought Ankara's help to stop hundreds of thousands of migrants reaching Greece.
But the purge of more than 100,000 judges, police, teachers and soldiers since a failed coup on July 15, would appear to strike at the heart of EU's accession criteria that centre on the ability of a country to guarantee fair trials, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.
Turkish officials say the scale of the crackdown, which has broad popular support at home, is justified by the gravity of events in July, when rogue soldiers commandeered tanks, fighter jets and helicopters, bombing parliament and government buildings in their attempt to seize power. More than 240 people, many of them civilians, were killed.
Hahn urged Turkey to let the Council of Europe, a broader 47-nation body that promotes democracy and human rights on the continent, to monitor the arrests and trials of those suspected of involvement in the coup.
But he said it was up to EU governments, not the European Commission, to decide how accession negotiations would continue.
Hahn also warned Turkey that the amendment of its harsh anti-terror law was in the balance if it wanted the EU to ease visa requirements for Turkish travellers, as promised in the March deal to stem the influx of refugees and migrants to Europe.
"There are clear conditions. It's also about our credibility. We have asked Georgia or Ukraine to fulfil conditions. They have done it. So in that respect, there is equal treatment for everybody and therefore Turkey has to deliver on this and if they are doing so we will give a positive report, (but) for the time being, it doesn't look like this will happen very soon," Hahn said.
EU foreign ministers will discuss Turkey on Monday in and again in December, with some countries, including Greece and Austria calling for an end to membership talks with Turkey.
Germany opposes sanctions on Turkey and has stressed Ankara is a key ally in fighting terrorism in the Middle East. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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