The European Union (EU) and Cyprus are on the same side of the table regarding Turkey’s allegation that the EU cannot be an honest broker in the Cyprus issue, Spanish MEP (S&D) and Standing Rapporteur on Turkey, Nacho Sánchez Amor has said.
He noted that at the core of the accession process are the rule of law, human rights and democratic values, emphasising that “if there is no real progress, there is no European prospect for Turkey.”
In an interview with Cypriot journalists on the margins of the European Parliament (EP) plenary session, taking place in Strasbourg this week, Sánchez Amor also noted that “Turkey is becoming more and more authoritarian,” adding that “the accession process is not a transaction.”
He pointed out that “European Union is still a club of democracies,” adding that Turkey is the only candidate country “going backwards” in democracy, and that “there is no way to resuscitate the accession process if there is no real progress” in democratic values.
The Spanish rapporteur on Turkey also pointed out that “we have been very critical in the last weeks” about the replacement of mayors in Turkey by trustees of the ruling party, noting that this constitutes “a blatant aggression to local democracy.” As he said, if a mayor has a problem, he needs to be dismissed or condemned. “The question is, who is going to replace an elected mayor, and the only way is (to put) another person of the local Council of the winning party,” he noted.
Furthermore, Nacho Sánchez Amor said that Turkey was not mentioned as a candidate country by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her address to the Plenary of the European Parliament on Wednesday, adding that “this is not the first time.” He also expressed his displeasure about this fact, indicating that “Turkey is formally a candidate country and has to be mentioned and has to be treated as a candidate country.”
The Spanish MEP pointed out that von der Leyen’s position towards Turkey shows that “Turkey is becoming more and more a third country and less and less a candidate country,” adding that the accession process is frozen. At the same time, he noted that “we don’t see any move from Turkey to unfreeze the accession process.”
Turkey is becoming more and more authoritarian and is getting farther and farther from European principles and values, he emphasized, adding that that the agreements signed between Turkey and the EU on the migration issue “are not a way to a membership.”
The Spanish MEP further noted that Turkey’s allegation that certain member states of the EU face problems concerning the rule of law “is not a passport for other mistakes.” He said that “we don’t want to repeat mistakes,” pointing out that “Hungary is the vaccine against admitting countries not having a real, mature and irreversible democracy.”
“If one thinks that a special military operation in Ukraine or northern Syria is helping, it is not,” he underlined.
“The idea that you need incentives to become a democracy is crazy. You must decide if you want to become a democracy. We are not obliged to convert Turkey into a democracy,” Nacho Sánchez Amor indicated.
He also noted that Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and knows perfectly what it must do. As he said, Turkey must “release Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş, abide by the resolutions and rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, counter femicides properly, stop harassing the opposition parties and respect the most basic democratic standards.”
The Spanish MEP pointed out that “Turkey maybe knows that it will never be a member of the European Union but wants some benefits.” He also said that “this is legitimate, but the accession process is not a transaction. The bazaar diplomacy, with which Turkey is happy, is not going to function in the accession process, but it could function in other ways,” he added.
“Cyprus is a prominent issue in which we are very coherent,” Sánchez Amor said, pointing out that “we are very insistent” about the extension of the custom union, the resumption of Cyprus talks and the avoidance of actions like those committed by Turkey recently in Varosha.
“We are not entering discussions on Turkey’s customs union with the EU without its complete application to Cyprus,” he said.
As regards the EU’s role on the Cyprus issue, Nacho Sánchez Amor expressed his disagreement with Turkey’s allegation that the EU cannot be an honest broker in the issue. As he said, “we ( the EU and Cyprus) are on the same side of the table. Cyprus is us and we are Cyprus,” he pointed out.
Replying to a question about the absence of the word “Turkey” from the title of the discussion held at the EP Plenary on Monday regarding the illegal proclamation of independence of the pseudo-state in the Turkish occupied part Cyprus, the Spanish MEP said that he did not know the reason for this fact, adding that “it was planned to have a reference (on Turkey).”
Invited to comment on Turkey’s relations with NATO, Nacho Sánchez Amor noted that Turkey’s stance towards Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO “helped the Russian political and military agenda.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since May 2004.
Also read: Güler: Turkey as the “Guardian” of the Eastern Mediterranean
Source: CNA/PH/MK/2024
