Human Rights Watch Warns of 'Authoritarian Drift' in Turkey

[Syt]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-eu-erdogan-idUSKBN17Y19J

Erdogan says Turkey has nothing to discuss with EU unless new accession chapters opened

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the European Union must open new chapters in Turkey's accession process, otherwise Ankara had nothing to discuss with the bloc and would say "goodbye".

His comments came after European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who oversees EU membership bids, told Reuters Turkey under Erdogan had turned its back on joining the bloc.

"From now on there is no option other than opening the chapters you have not yet opened. If you do not open (them), goodbye," Erdogan said at a ceremony to mark his return to the ruling AK Party.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-eu-idUSKBN17Y0U0

Turkey's EU dream is over, for now, top official says

Turkey under President Tayyip Erdogan has turned its back on joining the European Union, at least for now, the bloc's top official dealing with Ankara said, offering economic cooperation instead if both sides can restore friendly ties.

After years of stalemate on Turkey's bid to join the world's biggest trading bloc, EU governments say the process is dead, citing Erdogan's crackdown on dissidents, his 'Nazi' jibes at Germany and a referendum giving him sweeping new powers that a rights group says lack checks and balances.

"Everybody's clear that, currently at least, Turkey is moving away from a European perspective," European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who oversees EU membership bids, told Reuters.

"The focus of our relationship has to be something else," he said in an interview after EU foreign ministers met in Malta and where France and Germany led efforts to consider a new deal with Ankara based on trade and security ties.

"We have to see what could be done in the future, to see if we can restart some kind of cooperation," Hahn said on Saturday, saying that he had not had meetings on the economy with NATO-member Turkey since January last year, normally a fixture of accession talks.

The EU process is not formally frozen, but EU lawmakers called last week for a formal halt to talks, with some saying Turkey no longer met the democratic criteria to be considered a candidate, let alone a full member, for the EU.

Erdogan told Reuters in an interview last week that Turkey would not wait at Europe's door forever and would walk away from accession talks if what he said was rising Islamophobia and hostility from some member states persist.

Launched in 2005 after decades of seeking the formal start of an EU membership bid, negotiations dovetailed with Erdogan's first economic reforms in power as prime minister from 2003.

EU officials say Turkish reforms to enter the EU brought stability and attracted foreign investment, making Turkey an important emerging economy with high-speed trains crossing the strategically-located country bridging Europe and Asia.

That economic success remains part of Erdogan's popularity with the pious Turkish poor, who saw living standards rise, although Hahn noted the worsening state of Turkey's economy now.

The European Union is Turkey's biggest foreign investor and biggest trading partner, while Turkey shares a border with Iraq, Syria and with Russia in the Black Sea.

WHO'S TO BLAME?

Hahn said he would present a report by early next year to EU governments to clarify Turkey's status. The lack of urgency shows the reluctance of EU states to upset Ankara, given that they rely on Turkey to keep migrants from coming to Europe, diplomats said.

But Hahn said that limits on with press freedoms, mass jailing and shrinking civil rights made it almost impossible at the present time for Turkey to meet EU joining criteria.

Hahn said EU rules "were not negotiable" and the bloc would not "decouple the human rights situation" from discussions.

"There is no version of Turkish democracy. There is only democracy. Turkish people have the same rights to live in freedom as Europeans do," said Hahn, whose delegation in Turkey has visited dissidents in prison.

A slim majority of 51.4 percent of Turkish voters voted in April to grant the president sweeping new powers, the biggest overhaul of the country's politics since the founding of the modern republic, amid opposition accusations of vote fraud.

Asked if the European Union was partly responsible for Turkey's turn towards a more centralized system, Hahn said the drive to change had come from inside the country.

"Nobody can claim to be blameless, but it is always the sovereign decision of a country (to decide policy) ... If you have a certain vision in mind, it is difficult to intervene in a meaningful way," Hahn said.

"All these reform efforts are not done for the European Union but for the sake of (Turkish) citizens," Hahn said, referring to the process that helped transform former communist countries in central and eastern Europe into thriving market democracies as they sought to join the European Union.

"This is not about serving the Europeans," he said.

[Maladict]

At least the feeling is mutual 

[Zanza]

Would have been nice if Turkey had developed into a secular, liberal republic over the last 15-20 years and then they could have become a member. Alas, they developed in a completely different direction and are now more or less a dictatorship that scorns European values, so there is no value in any further talks with them.

[Berkut]

Would have been nice if Turkey had developed into a secular, liberal republic over the last 15-20 years and then they could have become a member. Alas, they developed in a completely different direction and are now more or less a dictatorship that scorns European values, so there is no value in any further talks with them.

Yeah, having any kind of discussion with today's Turkey about them in the EU would say a lot more about the EU than it would about Turkey.

[Zanza]

Would have been nice if Turkey had developed into a secular, liberal republic over the last 15-20 years and then they could have become a member. Alas, they developed in a completely different direction and are now more or less a dictatorship that scorns European values, so there is no value in any further talks with them.

Yeah, having any kind of discussion with today's Turkey about them in the EU would say a lot more about the EU than it would about Turkey.

The only reason why the negotiations are still officially going on is that no one wants to be blamed for ending them. This is despite no progress in the last 11 years and just one out of 33 chapters (namely Science & Research) of the EU acquis communitaire being concluded in the offcial negotiation period that started more than 12 years ago. The lower house of the EU, the parliament, has already voted to stop the negotiations, but the upper house, the Council, balks at it. Erdogan also isn't interested at the moment, because he can use the stalled talks for domestic points.

[HVC]

EU was never going to let turkey in. Would have been nice if the carrot had kept turkey on the democratic side, though.

[Admiral Yi]

I suggest a new working definition of Europe that draws the border at the limit of Ottoman conquest.

[alfred russel]

I suggest a new working definition of Europe that draws the border at the limit of Ottoman conquest.

Too late.

[Zanza]

I suggest a new working definition of Europe that draws the border at the limit of Ottoman Carolingian conquest.

Fixed that for you. 

EDIT: Nah, the eastern expansion of the EU is a huge success despite assclowns like Orban or Kaczynski.

[Admiral Yi]

EDIT: Nah, the eastern expansion of the EU is a huge success despite assclowns like Orban or Kaczynski.

Greece, failure.  Hungary, failure.  Rumania, debatable.

Czechia, inside the limits.

[Valmy]

It seems to me that the Eastern Expansion drove the UK out though.

[celedhring]

It was us or Warsaw Pact Mark II. The digestion is being harder than foreseen, but I think on the long term it will be fine.

Electors in western european nations are being more problematic right now, if you ask me.

[Zanza]

EDIT: Nah, the eastern expansion of the EU is a huge success despite assclowns like Orban or Kaczynski.

Greece, failure.  Hungary, failure.  Rumania, debatable.

Czechia, inside the limits.

Romania is actually rather encouraging as it seems to have a rather strong civil movement to reduce government corruption and improve their democracy.

The EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007 included Poland (great economic success, recently relapsed on societal progress), three Baltic states (all good economic development, but demographic collapse), Czechia and Slovakia (both doing well although not too enthusiastic about further integration), Hungary (well...), Slovenia (doing very well economically and I think ok politically), Bulgaria (not so great, corruption), Romania (okayish). Cyprus and Malta were Western states even before, but Cyprus should probably not have been admitted without a solution to the North Cyprus question. That was a mistake.

Greece has been a member since sometime in the 1980s and did fairly well, especially with democracy compared to their earlier military junta, until they joined the Euro - which as we all know was a massive mistake.

[Zanza]

It seems to me that the Eastern Expansion drove the UK out though.

And here I thought it was due to internal differences in the Tory party that were mismanaged by David Cameron.

[Barrister]

EDIT: Nah, the eastern expansion of the EU is a huge success despite assclowns like Orban or Kaczynski.

Greece, failure.  Hungary, failure.  Rumania, debatable.

Czechia, inside the limits.

Is Czechia becoming a thing?

I think I only ever hear Czech Republic in real life.