The Turkish Foreign Ministry, in response to the EC report, announced double standards for EU membership
The European Commission’s report, which criticizes Turkey’s serious lag in democratic standards and human rights, is unfair and biased. This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Turkey in response to the annual report presented by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the agency reports. Reuters.
We categorically reject unfounded claims and unfair criticism, especially under political criteria and the chapter on the judiciary and fundamental rights
The department’s statement also emphasizes that the EU’s approach is disingenuous, containing obvious double standards, since the issue of the basis of fundamental rights causes controversy even among members of the association.
The European Commission announced Ukraine’s “merit membership” in the EU
Turkey’s statement was a reaction to Ursula von de Leyen’s annual report presented in Brussels. In it, the association assesses the readiness of various candidate countries to join the European Union. The politician recalled the principle of “merit membership” using the example of the issue of Ukraine’s accession.
The timing depends on the reforms, as well as on the principle of “merit membership”. But as soon as the European Council makes a formal decision to start negotiations, they will be able to start immediately
Earlier it was reported that the European Commission recommends starting negotiations on accession to the EU for Ukraine and Moldova, in contrast to Turkey.
The European Commission made a recommendation for admission after assessing the progress in the implementation of reform goals by Ukraine and Chisinau
In particular, Ukraine is required to continue the fight against corruption and protect the rights of national minorities.
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Turkey’s path to the European Union
Turkey’s relations with the European integration project go back six decades. In 1963, the Turkish side signed an association agreement with the European Economic Community (EEC) and received associate member status the following year.
In 1987, Turkey applied to join the union, but the country received EU candidate status only in 1999, and accession negotiations began another six years later
Despite the positive public opinion of the Turkish population towards the EU and the desire to join the union, Turkey still does not meet EU standards on many criteria of the political, economic and legal systems. In 2015, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a loss of interest in continuing the European integration process.
Current state of negotiations between Turkey and the EU
The possibility of Turkey joining the association is still assessed with skepticism in the country. According to Erdogan, the EU has been making Turkey wait for an answer on this issue for about 60 years.
If they give up their unfair treatment [к Турции], especially regarding the issuance of visas, they will correct their mistakes. If not, then they will lose the right to expect anything from us
In September, Turkey’s president noted that the country had never needed EU help or support. A journalist from the American PBS television channel asked Erdogan whether Turkey is ready to abandon the process of joining the European Union. The Turkish president responded that his country attaches great importance to the organization’s decisions.
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