European Parliament procrastinating on Turkey debate

Sander Loones is calling on his colleagues at the European Parliament to finally start taking the Turkey issue seriously: “To my surprise, Turkey was not on the European Parliament agenda this week. In addition, my request to add a debate about Turkey to the agenda was rejected. The new president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, chose to hide behind procedural regulations. Incomprehensible, especially since everybody in Europe is talking about our relationship with Turkey and only the European Parliament is not debating the issue transparently and vigorously.”

One of the reasons cited for refusing Sander Loones’s request was that Parliament would debate the Turkey issue during the week of 3 April. “However, now it turns out this debate has been moved to 26 April. That’s absurd: after all, the Turkish referendum will take place on 16 April. It’s too little, too late. We might as well skip the whole debate then,” Sander Loones states. “It is especially exasperating that the European Parliament is often quick to point a moralising finger if anything happens somewhere in the world, but that it now postpones a serious debate on Turkey. I therefore call on all fellow Members of the European Parliament to make themselves heard and demand that the Turkey debate still take place before the Turkish referendum.”

No more European money for Erdogan

Meanwhile, tensions between Turkey and Europe are escalating further. That is also evidenced by statements from Turkish politicians, who among other things felt it appropriate to call the Dutch Nazis and fascists. “We must not tolerate that, and sternly condemn it, also as the European Parliament,” Sander Loones emphasises. Finally, he calls for actions rather than just words. “Earlier, the European Parliament voted to freeze European financing for Turkey. However, I was very surprised when the European budget was approved by Parliament, and saw that another 600 million had been earmarked for Ankara. This has to stop. For this reason I ask a clear commitment from all Members of the European Parliament: would you please vote against every European budget that continues to reward Turkey in this way? Our answer is clear: no more European money for Erdogan. After all, this money just disappears into a Turkish democratic black hole,” Sander Loones concludes.