European Parliament votes to suspend Turkey membership talks

[GennGreymane]

http://www.france24.com/en/20161124-...edium=facebook

The European Parliament on Thursday voted in favour of halting membership talks with Turkey over its post-coup crackdown, in a vote that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already branded worthless.

The non-binding motion approved by MEPs said parliament "calls ... on the Commission and on the Member States to initiate a temporary freeze of the ongoing accession negotiations with Turkey".

"Turkey is an important partner of the EU," the resolution stated. "But in partnerships, the will to cooperate has to be two-sided... Turkey is not showing this political will as the government's actions are further diverting Turkey from its European path."

Anticipating the vote, Erdogan said Wednesday that his country's "struggle for its stability and future won't be interrupted by (European legislators') raising and lowering their hands".

Although the vote carries no immediate consequences, it underscores the increasing unease in Europe over Erdogan's tightening grip on power in the wake of the coup attempt.

Tens of thousands of people, including teachers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, have been arrested or fired since the failed July 15 coup.

Turkey dismisses vote

Reacting to the vote later Thursday, Omer Celik, Turkey’s EU affairs minister, said the Turkish administration did not take the vote seriously.

"We consider that decision null and void. It is not a decision that can be taken seriously because of the vision it has and the language that pervades the text," said Celik.

Speaking to reporters during a televised news conference, Celik said EU parliamentarians lose perspective when it comes to Turkey and that they should watch their language when talking about Erdogan.

Thursday’s resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority of MEPs, with 479 votes in favour and 37 against, with 107 abstentions.

Reporting from Brussels, FRANCE 24’s Méabh McMahon said the vote count showed that “the majority of political groups in the European Parliament wanted to see this temporary freeze.”

Thursday’s vote followed a lively parliamentary debate earlier this week, with the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, arguing that such a vote would not yield positive results. Mogherini instead called for EU engagement with Turkey.

FRANCE 24's McMahon paraphrased Guy Verhofstadt, head of the Liberal group in the European Parliament, who argued that “it was actually the EU’s credibility that was at stake here, and that if it didn’t do anything it would look like the EU was looking away" while Erdogan installed what Verhofstadt called "an authoritarian regime."

[GennGreymane]

I'm curious when the tipping point is reached with Turkey, and other governments finally have the guts to acknowledge its current regime as the totalitarian dictatorship it at it's core really is, and stop to cozy up to this retard Erdogan for shitty economic reasons. Turkey welcomes it's own demise with this sharlatan.

Usually how it goes.

[Kalis]

Say no to Turkey this Thanksgiving.


Doesn't really work in Europe, so they should have announced it in December.

[JohnBrown1917]

Erdogan already threw a hissy fit.

[Justpassing]

Were they ever gonna take them in anyway?

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Were they ever gonna take them in anyway?

No. But stringing them along got them to work with them on the refugee situation and stim the tide of terrorist into Europe. But I am sure now the plan for Turkey will be to quickly shift gears by building a super highway though their territory for both.

[Justpassing]

No. But stringing them along got them to work with them on the refugee situation and stim the tide of terrorist into Europe. But I am sure now the plan for Turkey will be to quickly shift gears by building a super highway though their territory for both.

Yeah this is why I think it was a horrendously wrong decision. I mean I'm not racist to immigrants or anything but:

1. Nobody seem to like immigrants in Europe
2. Turkey has like over 9000 million migrants

I don't think I have more to say about the subject to make you realise it was a bad idea.

[Runenwächter]

Merkel hasnt gotten the memo yet. She made a deal with him because it was politically opportunate at the time. One more thing she and her circle will have to distract from when campaigning shifts into high gears.

[Deleted]

Turkey has no place in Europe. And their endless threatening of letting migrants lose (as in they are the only ones who controll the borders) is a masquerade.
First of all EU needs to disband, but if it doesnt they need to elect leaders who can deal with Turkey's masquerade with iron ferocity.

These threats to let lose migrants upon us should be treated as a declaration of war.

[Deleted]

Oh no the leader of a poor country is threatning us.

We better overreact and pretend he is actually a threat. You know so we do not hurt his feelings.

[Ulmita]

Turkey needs to be sanctioned into fucking oblivion to say the least.

a) They are an authoritarian state with no values for freedom of anykind (speech, expression, sexuality etc)
b) They are dreaming of returning the glory of ottoman empire. At the moment they are openly saying the treaty of lausanne needs to be scraped.
c) They are threatening us with refugees as if we are weaklings or as if the refugees are somekind of illness.
d) They are fucking up the Kurds in and out of Syria and then they blame the Isrealis when they do the same to the Palestinians.
e) They have a history with maybe the most genocides of any nation under their belts and then they blame Europeans for the crisis in middle east.


What Turkey needs is to get owned so that little shithead Eordogan learns his place and learns to respect and protect his people and the Kurds.
Sanction them and if they don't get it, release some "freedom and democracy" US&A style uppon them

My 2c.

[Sentynel]

Good. Turkey doesn't belong to Europe anyways.

[Kalis]

Oh no the leader of a poor country is threatning us.

We better overreact and pretend he is actually a threat. You know so we do not hurt his feelings.

Turkey has a larger economy than most EU member states, they are hardly a poor country and are currently illegally occupying one third of the territory of an EU country, so are beyond a potential threat.

[Deleted]

Ask Trump to export democracy back to Turkey, or let Putin have at it.

[Kuntantee]

Turkey is making a big mistake. We should always have ties (be it strong or not) with Europe. I do not support Turkey's membership for EU, simply because when requirements are met, we wouldn't need EU anyway. However, Erdogan is cutting the ties we had.

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Say no to Turkey this Thanksgiving.


Doesn't really work in Europe, so they should have announced it in December.

More of the linguistic game of yours (brits)? It got boring ages ago.

[Kalis]

More of the linguistic game of yours (brits)? It got boring ages ago.

Puns are a thing in many languages, not just English.

[Sorshen]

Better late than never.

[Dreknar20]

and stop to cozy up to this retard Erdogan for shitty economic reasons

not everyone follows the mind set of 'imaginary feewings and principles > real/tangible power'

[hellhamster]

If Brexit is part one of the EU dream failing, Turkey joining is part two.

[Deleted]

If Brexit is part one of the EU dream failing, Turkey joining is part two.

They won't be able to if Greece or Cyprus vetoes it.