Lawmaker Comments on Prospects on Resuming Turkey's EU Accession Talks

Negotiations concerning Turkey’s membership into the European Union should resume upon the conclusion of its current state of emergency, as the country returns to a state of internal normalcy and stability, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Miltiadis Kyrkos told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to change the country's policy toward the European Union after a referendum on constitutional amendments amid the political row around the Turkish rallies EU bans, adding that the bloc had been dragging out Turkey’s accession process for many years.

Last week, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz reiterated his demand that the European Union should halt membership negotiations with Turkey amid the political scandal.

“After Turkey comes out of this emergency crisis after the July coup, we must discuss again the issues of the visa liberalization etc. but only if Turkey returns to the normality which is a precondition for any further discussion,” Kyrkos said.

A failed coup attempt in July 2016 prompted the Turkish authorities to declare a nationwide state of emergency, giving considerable restrictive powers to the Turkish government for three months. The state of emergency has already been extended twice more, the third instance of the decree having gone into effect on January 19 for another 90 days.

Kyrkos stressed the negotiations on Turkey’s membership into the European Union must be in parallel with work regarding the principles of rule of law, freedom of speech and civil liberties in the country.

“The accession [to the EU] process is the only way for Turkey, in cooperation with the EU, to move forward, away from authoritarian ways,” Kyrkos added.

Current tension in EU-Turkish relations has been triggered by the cancellation of Turkish politicians' public appearances in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands by their respective regions’ governance, ahead of Turkey's national referendum on constitutional reform. The referendum is slated to greatly expand the executive powers of Erdogan, who responded to the aforementioned countries ban on his diplomats by comparing these European governments to Nazis.

Turkey and the European Union should place focus on bilateral relations concerning modernization of the joint customs union instead of conflicting with each other, VKyrkos told Sputnik.

"We must have the best possible relations with our neighbouring countries, and one of them, an important partner, is Turkey… We must focus on modernizing our common customs union including agri products, services and public procurement and through that Turkey will … embrace transparency and become more competitive," Kyrkos said, expressing his point of view on future development of the EU-Turkey relations from the current diplomatic crisis.

Kyrkos added that modernization of EU-Turkey Customs Union will also contribute to an increase of total trade turnover between the sides.