Not a European penny more and no EU accession for Turkey

The European Parliament has approved the most strongly-worded report ever on Turkey. “An overwhelming majority wants to suspend the pre-accession aid as soon as the accession negotiations are put on hold. However, we want that financing to be stopped with immediate effect,” says MEP Mark Demesmaeker. “The accession negotiations must also be stopped immediately. As far as the N-VA is concerned, Turkey can never become a member of the EU.”

A clear majority of MEPs have finally opened their eyes to the precarious situation of democracy in Turkey. Since 2007, Europe has already given nearly a billion euros to Turkey for democratic reforms. “Today it’s clearer than ever that that was money down the drain,” Mark Demesmaeker says. Those are expenses that Europe can use much more effectively to strengthen its own border controls for example.” The N-VA is calling on all MEPs not to approve the budget for 2018, which contains yet another 640 million euros of accession aid for Erdogan: “Not a European penny more for Erdogan.”

New relationship

Nevertheless, Mark Demesmaeker is advocating a new sort of relationship with Turkey. “Let’s be honest with one another. Turkey is never actually going to accede to the EU. Europe has got to work on a new sort of relationship with Turkey, in which adult trade relations and a resolute approach to security and migration take centre stage.”