European Parliament votes to extend suspension of Turkey’s EU accession talks over democratic backsliding

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament has voted decisively to maintain the suspension of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, citing ongoing democratic decline and an intensifying crackdown on dissent. The resolution, adopted Wednesday during a plenary session in Strasbourg, passed with 367 votes in favor, 74 against, and 188 abstentions.

The decision reflects growing frustration among EU lawmakers regarding Ankara’s failure to meet key accession criteria. These include establishing stable democratic institutions, upholding the rule of law, protecting human rights and minority rights, adhering to international law, and aligning with the EU’s foreign and security policies. The report emphasizes that these are “absolute criteria, not matters subject to transactional strategic considerations or negotiations.”

“We are constantly hearing from Turkish authorities about their supposed commitment to EU membership and how important it is for us to revive this process due to security and geopolitics, but they have got it wrong,” said MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, PSOE), the Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey. “Membership is about democracy, and the further they push towards a full authoritarian model, as observed recently with Ekrem İmamoğlu’s arrest, the further they move away from EU membership.”

The resolution strongly condemned the Turkish government’s harsh response to peaceful protests, including the prosecution of hundreds of demonstrators in mass trials lacking credible evidence. It also criticized politically motivated actions, such as the legal targeting of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and potential presidential contender.

Additionally, lawmakers denounced President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent unapproved visit to the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus, calling it an “illegal” and “provocative” act that constitutes a unilateral intervention against the interests of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Despite its firm stance on Turkey’s accession, the resolution acknowledges the country’s strategic importance. As a NATO ally and regional power with influence across the Black Sea, Middle East, and Mediterranean, Turkey remains a key partner in areas such as migration, trade, counter-terrorism, and energy. However, it emphasized that deeper cooperation with Ankara must not compromise democratic values.

The Parliament also highlighted the pro-European aspirations of Turkish society, particularly its youth, as one of the few remaining reasons to keep the accession process technically alive, even though it remains frozen. Lawmakers stressed the importance of maintaining constructive dialogue while making it clear that democratic backsliding is incompatible with progress toward EU membership.

Turkey’s EU accession talks, launched in 2005, have been effectively stalled since 2018. With Wednesday’s resolution, the European Parliament reaffirmed that under current conditions, negotiations cannot and should not be revived.