Majority of European Parliament votes to freeze EU membership talks with Turkey
The majority of lawmakers in the European Parliament on Thursday voted to halt membership talks with Turkey after Ankara’s post-coup crackdown on the opposition, academics, intellectuals and those with potential ties to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
MEPs voting in Strasbourg said the parliament “strongly condemns the disproportionate repressive measures taken in Turkey since the failed military coup attempt.”
About 37,000 people have been arrested since the coup, which alongside thousands of job dismissals and measures against Turkish media have pushed many MEPs to send a clear message to Ankara.
The non-binding motion approved by European lawmakers said parliament “calls… on the Commission and on the Member States to initiate a temporary freeze of the on-going accession negotiations with Turkey.”
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(Photo: European Parliament/flickr.com)
