Turkey has been summoned by the European Commission to immediately address issues on human rights and democracy. Turkey was said to have failed in upholding these two important EU standards.
In the past two years, Turkey has been waiting for its EU membership to be legitimate. However, there has been a delay due to issues on freedom of expression, according to the Turkey Annual Report. The report also speaks about the independence of judiciary being weakened and the new laws move against the EU standards.
BBC News reports that Turkey has been moving into progress on freedom of expression for several years, but the annual report describes the opposite. The report tells of a serious backsliding on Turkey’s end for the past two years.
Turkey has been accused of “Ongoing and new criminal cases against journalists, writers or social media users, intimidation of journalists and media outlets as well as the authorities’ actions curtailing freedom of media are of considerable concern”.
Adding to the complications is the problem between the Turkish government and the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in which peace process seems unachievable. The PKK is considered as a terrorist group by the Turkish government, and the fighting between these two groups is responsible for the killing of hundreds of people. The situation is creating a severe deterioration of security in the country.
The EU Commission has warned Turkey of its increasing violence that clearly violate human rights, and its inadequate execution of measurements to counter terrorism, BBC News reports.
Clearly, Turkey’s membership application to EU is currently affected by the country’s present situation, and may be delayed.
Turkey’s membership status is currently affected by the present situation of the country. EU fears that Turkey might have deteriorated in its fight for democracy and freedom of speech.
Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987, but the accession negotiation had only begun in 2005. From the 33 of the negotiation chapters provided by EU, only one has been completed.
Turkey has come a long way in changing its policies, and it can’t go back to its old regime.
