Spotlight: MEPs vote for temporary freezing Turkey's accession talks

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of a non-binding motion to temporarily freeze Turkey's accession talks to join the European Union (EU) on Thursday.

The MEPs urged the European Commission and national governments to halt the ongoing EU membership talks with Turkey, which was blamed for its "disproportionate repressive measures" in response to July's failed military coup.

In the text, adopted by a strong majority of 479 votes to 37, with 107 abstentions, MEPs indicated that "Turkey is an important partner of the EU" before qualifying, "But in partnerships, the will to cooperate has to be two-sided (...) Turkey is not showing this political will as the government's actions are further diverting Turkey from its European path."

In a Tuesday debate with MEPs that proceeded Thursday's vote, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign relations head, tried to avoid alienating the EU partner while inviting MEPs to share their views.

"Some say that Turkey has to choose between the West and the East. Personally, I do not agree. Turkey can -- and should -- stay true to its nature as a bridge between worlds and cultures," Mogherini declared to the Strasbourg hemicycle.

"But if Turkey moves further away from our European Union and from democracy, it would lose part of its own heritage, its own identity, its own culture and also its own power."

Belgian head of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, Guy Verhofstadt, however, was more critical during the debate: "Let's not fool ourselves anymore. We all know that this is not in compliance with European values, that it is not in compliance with European principles."

Briton Syed Kamall, speaking on behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, showed a rare point of agreement with his Belgian peer. "The EU continues to pretend that it is 'business as usual' in relations with Turkey. But we can all see that the current relationship is not working," the conservative MEP declared.

"We are not abandoning Turkish citizens -- they believe in the same values as us -- nor are we abandoning the vibrant civil society that is today under so much pressure. Our doors remain open," reassured Hungarian MEP Kati Piri (Socialists and Democrats group), before specifying, "We are merely reacting to what is happening in a country that says it wants to join the European Union."

According to Turkish state media Anadolu Agency, however, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would not be moved by the resolution, saying on Wednesday that the vote would hold "no value" in Turkish eyes, claiming "our country has not seen real support from the Western countries."

A temporary freeze on accession talks would require no new negotiating chapters being opened and no new initiatives taken regarding Turkey's EU Negotiation Framework, which became active on October 3, 2005.

Turkey's bid to join Europe began with the EU's predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC), with an accession application filed in 1987. The country was first recognized as a candidate by the EU in 1999, with EU leaders agreeing in 2004 to open accession negotiations with Ankara.

Talks have faltered, however, in recent years due to disagreements over the handling of refugees in the migrant crisis that has been ongoing since 2015, human rights issues, and other issues.

Territorial disagreements over the status of the island of Cyprus have also been a sticking point for negotiations since they opened. Enditem