By Turkish Minute,
Turkey is no longer welcome to join the European Union due to the country’s continued erosion of democratic standards, members of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on April 9, according to a report by Brussels Signal.
The committee adopted a report with 48 votes in favor, three against and 23 abstentions, stating that Turkey’s EU accession process “cannot be resumed” under current conditions.
The MEPs pointed to the politically motivated removal and recent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu — President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s key political rival — as a central example of the country’s democratic backsliding.
The report expressed “extreme concern” over İmamoğlu’s case, warning that Turkey was veering toward “a fully authoritarian model,” with shrinking space for political dissent and “serious restrictions on fundamental freedoms — in particular, the freedoms of expression and assembly.”
According to Brussels Signal, the committee found that Ankara had failed to address long-standing democratic deficiencies and that the situation had worsened in recent years.
The MEPs acknowledged that many in Turkish society continue to support democracy and EU integration but said these aspirations are being undermined by government actions.
“Membership is about democracy,” said Nacho Sánchez Amor, the report’s rapporteur and a Spanish MEP from the Socialists and Democrats group. “The more they edge towards authoritarianism — as demonstrated by Ekrem İmamoğlu’s recent arrest — the further they drift from EU membership.”
He added that Turkey’s appeals to revive the accession process based on geopolitical arguments fall flat. “We repeatedly hear from Turkish authorities about their supposed commitment to EU membership and the importance of reviving the process for reasons of security and geopolitics — but they are mistaken,” Sánchez Amor said.
The report emphasized that EU membership requires strict conditions, including functioning democratic institutions, rule of law, respect for human rights and minorities, good neighborly relations and alignment with the EU’s foreign policy.
“These are absolute criteria,” the report stated, “not subjects for transactional strategic considerations or negotiation.”
The final vote on the report will take place during the European Parliament’s plenary session from May 7 to 8.
