ANKARA (Sputnik) – On Saturday, European Parliament President Martin Schulz threatened Turkey with economic sanctions amid arrests of opposition politicians and journalists in the country. His words followed an European Commission report which stressed that Turkey’s efforts on achieving compliance with EU legislative standards, necessary for joining the European Union were insufficient.
"You say 'we'll stop the accession talks', well, you are late. You should decide right away. And I say as the president that we should show patience until the end of the year. Then we ask the issue to the nation. Isn't sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation? We should ask the issue to public is final decision is to be given by it," Erdogan said, as quoted by the Daily Sabah media outlet.
"What are you? Since when do you have the authority to decide for Turkey? How can you, who have not taken Turkey into the EU for 53 years, find the authority to make such a decision?" Erdogan said.
Once again the Turkish president accused the European Union of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) outlawed in Turkey.
"You should keep your promises first. You should first clean the terror organizations' representatives in European Union's Parliament, the European Council, inside or outside of the Council building. It is not enough to declare the PKK as a terror organization. Right now agents of terror organization are swarming Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, everywhere," Erdogan said.
Turkey signed an association agreement with the then-European Community in 1963, and submitted a membership application in 1987. Talks about Ankara's membership of the European Union began in 2005. Sixteen out of 35 chapters of the accession talks have been opened. The negotiations on Turkish EU membership have been repeatedly suspended due to the Cyprus dispute and Turkey's record of denying press freedom, among other obstacles.
On July 15, a military coup attempt took place in Turkey. Ankara accused Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his followers of playing a key role in the coup. Since July, Turkey has arrested hundreds of military personnel, activists and journalists on suspicion of links with Gulen. This crackdown along with clashes with PKK intensified last year caused significant concern of the European Union.
