EU Commissioner: We Cannot Ignore Rule of Law Deficits in Turkey

EU Enlargement Commissioner Hahn has told Die Welt that the focus needs to be not on Turkey’s accession negotiations but on strategic partnership, remarking that the EU cannot “ignore significant deficits in the rule of law in Turkey”.

İstanbul

EU Commissioner: We Cannot Ignore Rule of Law Deficits in Turkey

Photo by Adel Ömeragiç/AA

Click here to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Prior to the publication of the EU Progress Report on Turkey in April, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn spoke to Germany's Die Welt newspaper about Turkey.

According to the interview translated by Deutsche Welle Turkish, Hahn noted that Turkey is a "very important" neighbor for the EU with its "geostrategic location and dense population", and that "the EU and Turkey should focus on the development of a strategic partnership and not on accession negotiations in the coming years," as also suggested by President of France Emmanuel Macron.

Serving as EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations since 2014, Hahn said that this partnership could consist of, "for instance, negotiations to expand the EU-Turkey Customs Union to include services and other sectors".

"Charm offensive policy not enough"

Hahn told Die Welt that "the release of journalist Deniz Yücel does not alter concerns about problems in the rule of law in Turkey".

Indicating that thousands in Turkey are under arrest, some still without indictment, Hahn said that they cannot "turn a blind eye to significant deficits in the rule of law in Turkey". Hahn also noted that Turkey's "charm offensive is not enough".

Commissioner Hahn stated that "politics clearly influences the judiciary in Turkey" and emphasized that while Turkey has rule of law "according to its constitution", there are "serious deficits in practice". (PT/PU)