Strasbourg, 7 June 2022
Members of the European Parliament voted during the plenary session in Strasbourg on the annual report on the 2021 Commission report on Turkey. With this report, European Parliament assesses the EU’s relations with Turkey and gives its view and recommendations on the European integration process of the country.
Member of the European Parliament and Vice Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Željana Zovko, welcomed the report and called on Turkey to return to its European path and reassess its current foreign policy approach. “Turkey is a significant strategic partner of the European Union in the fields of trade and economy. Unfortunately, we have seen a continuing decline of respect for the rule of law, media freedom and other human rights and a lack of political will to carry out the necessary reforms” Zovko stated and pointed at the recent conviction to life imprisonment of Osman Kavala.
As European Parliament’s rapporteur for IPA III instrument Zovko stressed in her amendments that EU’s financial assistance is based on a conditionality linked to the “fundamentals first” approach. “European assistance can be suspended in the event of degradation of democracy, human rights or rule of law. Therefore, I call on Turkey to show a credible commitment to the reform process to foster closer cooperation with the EU and to work on enhanced diplomatic engagement to better its relations in the Mediterranean,” she stated.
Zovko also welcomed the agreement granting Turkey association status in Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps for the period 2021-2027 as a good example of closer cooperation between two partners. “I welcome this agreement and encourage Turkey and the EU to promote European integration by supporting young people, promoting youth participation and by building on prior experience in the cooperation in research and education” Zovko concluded.