The members of the the European Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of a temporary halt to EU membership talks with Turkey because of Ankara’s “disproportionate” reaction to July’s failed coup.
Members of the European Parliament voted solidly in favor of a non-binding motion urging the European Commission and national governments to freeze ongoing negotiations.
479 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution to suspend the negotiations with Turkey, 37 against. There were 107 abstentions.
Ahead of the ballot, the leaders of the main political groups at the Parliament said the European Union had to stand by its humanitarian values and ensure that Turkey did not reinstate the death penalty, which Mr. Erdogan has vowed to approve. A ban on capital punishment is a condition of European Union membership.
The EU governments are unlikely to take heed of the EP vote.
The vote, in Strasbourg, France, also raised the stakes for European Union governments that are loath to cut off the talks with Turkey. So far, only Austria has publicly advocated suspending the talks.
In order to officially suspend talks with Turkey, the European Commission or one-third of European Union member states would first need to make a formal proposal to do so, and a majority of the member states would then have to vote in favor of the measure.
Two days earlier, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had warned that the “European Parliament vote on Turkey would be of “no value.”
More than 100,000 public workers, including police officers, teachers, soldiers and others, have been fired for what the Turkish authorities have said are connections to the coup or to terrorists. Hundreds of organizations and NGOs have been forced to close, including many news outlets.
sources also: reuters, newyorktimes
PS value or not, point is that at least one EU institutions shows its disapproval about what is going on in Turkey and that despotic behaviors have no place in the European Union. Oh wait … look at some east European countries…
EU-membership for Kurdistan instead but without the billions of EU-taxpayers money used to stabilize the power of the pigs that now this don’t need to join any more and then investigation of the war-criminal German-Turkish air-strikes against defenceless YPG and civilians plus a legalization of PKK in Europe which a Belgium court already did last week.
Kurdistan needs 1. first to establish as state 2. when this happens EU will be dissolved or 2. geographical is much too far away from EU. 3. it can join Eurovision for a start
A much better idea is to hand Eurovision over to Kurdistan, to help them start their state up. Everyone in the Balkans knows that your country has made it when it appears on Eurovision with a tuneless song sung by kids who have time-travelled either from the 1950s or from the future. So, cut out the middle-man and just make Kurdistan a state by letting it control the Eurovision s.c.
a rare opportunity to boost tourism in Erbil
The Belgian court did not legalise the PKK. The decision was that it should not be classed as a terrorist organisation but rather an “armed struggle”. Nowhere in that courts decision was it stated the the PKK is in fact legal.
“According to information released by Belgian media on Thursday, the court in Brussels said that the charges of abduction of minors, deprivation of liberty and death threats on 36 PKK-linked suspects cannot be considered as terror crimes since the PKK’s activities were an “armed struggle” and cannot be considered within the scope of terrorism”.
This is nit-picking. Refusing to categorise the activities of the PKK as terrorism amounts to accepting that its activities are lawful armed struggle. Since a Belgian court cannot change the legal status of any organisation in a foreign country – least of all, in a non-EU country — of course it cannot legalise the PKK. It has ruled that the PKK is not a terrorist organisation as the Turkish government has been insisting and trying to enforce through Interpol.
If this foreign country is Turkey it is illegal in Kurdistan
That maybe your spin on the courts decision, it is not mine and it certainly is not “Nit-Picking”. It has not ruled that the PKK’s activities are legal and the two high-rank executives of the PKK in Europe – Remzi Kartal and Zübeyir Aydar – will continue to be tried on the mentioned charges of abduction of minors, deprivation of liberty and death threats.
Clearly, you know nothing of law. What I wrote was not “spin” as you derisively express it, but a statement of legal meaning, as I understand it. The fact that individuals are being prosecuted for crimes — and not even convicted, for God’s sake — does not make an organisation that they are associated with an illegal organisation. That is not how law works. Obviously, you are one of these people who thinks that calling something illegal makes it illegal: the UK is full of politicians and other dimwits who think like that.
Incidentally, “maybe” does not mean the same as “may be”. Try using language properly, and it might help with understanding law.
There are hundreds of Turks and Kurds (some of them with German and other European passports) sitting in European prisons, lots of them in pre-trial custody and specially isolated kuz the Turkish fascist government calls them “terrorists” and normally the European governments as NATO-buddies just follow the instructions of the Turkish terrorist government, a good example is feminist Dilay Banu Büyükavcı who worked as a doctor and while she rots in a Bavarian prison hell-hole her working place is still waiting for her as their colleagues trust in her and know that she’s victim of a typical anti-leftist construct. Never forget that the main conflict in Cyprus was orchestrated by NATO, CIA and their Turkish and Greek fascist buddies, as originally on Cyprus the first identity was Cypriot, not Turkish and not Greek.
But this is the same fascist terrorist bullshit like holding the American president Leonard Peltier hostage in prison since 40 years. Kurdistan can never be ruled by Turkish law, this is illegal. Just like in America American Indians are oppressed by European occupation and its illegal imported “laws” – South Africa went finally free and Greece too after 400 years of occupation, so Free Kurdistan and Free America – Indian Land for Indian People.
“PS value or not, point is that at least one EU institutions shows its disapproval about what is going on in Turkey and that despotic behaviors”
The point is European parliament is doing everything within its power to sabotage EU – Turkish deal. The one deal that is currently keeping Greece above the water level. And you? Applauding to it…
P.S. Your comparison of some Eastern European countries to Turkey cant be taken seriously – even as a joke its very poor.
But Hungary and true Finland are the same Mongols like Turkey and should join China
The EP is not trying to sabotage the EU-Turkey deal, but it is certainly not happy with an illegal political arrangement made simply because fascist governments in Eastern Europe refuse to obey the law and accept refugees. Decent law-abiding Europeans do not support criminal behaviour, whether it is from governments or individuals.
Last time I checked there were 6000 – 7000 migrants relocated. You dont need to be genius to see that quotas arent working. It is also obvious majority of European countries dont support them. And we both know very well those quotas had nothing to do with solidarity, human rights etc. – they have always been instrument of certain political(!) agendas – rejected by Europeans!
The whole of the EU has shifted to the Right and is opposed to the rule of law — Germany and France partially excepted. France has taken the most relocated refugees along with Portugal. Germany has received so many anyway, it is not reasonable to ask them to take more. The problem is with the shitty pockmarked countries of Eastern Europe that refuse to obey laws and have no solidarity with Greece or Italy, the frontline of refugee arrivals.
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Of course, in effect the East European communist bloc (now turned fascist) is destroying the European Union: Stalin would be proud of you.
There are 6000 – 7000 migrants relocated while cca 13000 free places (capacity) have been offered by different European countries! The second number (13000) is a proof that majority of European countries is rejecting quotas (otherwise the capacity offered would be much higher). The first number (6000 – 7000) is a proof too. This time of Greece`s and Italy`s failure to offer enough migrants to use capacity offered by states. That means (besides other proofs) that quotas are not working. Europe has shifted right thanks to guys like you in the first place!!! But we have already discussed it (elsewhere) and I will not repeat myself. Re: Eastern Europe: yes, we rejected to bear consequences of other countries` irresponsible behaviour. It was the duty of Greece and Italy to make the same arrangements with their neighbours as Slovakia and Spain did! Why should countries doing their homework properly share the burden with those who are not?
What garbage is this? “countries doing their homework properly”…? Are you still in school?
The illegal and irresponsible behaviour in the EU is from the new Eastern countries, the communist bloc turned fascist. There is nothing irresponsible about the Greek handling of the refugee inflows of the last two years; there have been serious problems in competence to handle such large numbers, as in all countries.
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But the criminal behaviour of certain Eastern EU countries, the disgusting comments from your depraved and corrupt politicians, are beyond mere criminality. They belong in the annals of world history, with mass murderers and sadists. Telling the Greek government to “let people drown in the Aegean”, demanding that troops shoot at people in the water to stop them arriving on the shore, claiming that these refugees from war zones are just “illegal migrants”…
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I’m sorry, but people like you are just vermin. You have no place inb the civilised world, and we do not wish to be associated with scum like you. Go to Hell, which is your destiny, and burn in flames. Your fascist mentality was put to rest with the death of Hitler. You will be not permitted to reinvent evil and impose it on decent human beings.
1/ In 2015 there were cca 80000 – 90000 asylum applicants in Austria. Not wanting to be confronted with the same problem again this middle sized state (like Greece)undertook several actions in cooperation with Balkan countries ultimately resulting in closing of Balkan route. As a direct effect of these measures Austria is expecting cca 37000 asylum applicants this year! My question is this: in years 2008 – 2010 Greece was confronted with 80000 – 90000 irregular border crossings each year. What measures did Greece realize in cooperation with states (or towards them) lying on migratory route in front of Greece??? What steps did Greek government undertake to lower the number of coming migrants in following years?
2/ Would you be so kind and give links here as a proof of what you have written about politicians recommending to let migrants drown or shoot them?
3/ Well, this is quite funny. If you REALLY dont want to be associated with us – why are you asking us to show solidarity to you? Why are you accusing us of not being solidary? You do not seem to be consistent here, you know…
If you don’t know what was said in EU council meetings to the Greek delegation, then you should not be posting anything here at all. I am not going to do research for you.
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As for limiting the numbers of arrivals in Greece: you just don’t get it, do you? IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO LIMIT ARRIVALS EXCEPT BY ILLEGAL MEANS. Greece, like all countries with a coastline, is governed by the Law of the Sea, the UN 1951 Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights, and (taking second place) EU and Greek laws. Previous Greek governments, under a right wing malakas called Samaras, decided to make life hell for immigrants and refugees arriving and/or living in Greece. EVERYTHING HE DID WAS ILLEGAL, and Greece was taken to the European courts repeatedly and lost every case of breaching the rights of migrants. The result, since 2011, has been that the European courts have ruled that no migrants can be returned to Greece under the Dublin Regulation, and the EU has paid for Greece to develop better processing of asylum applications.
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In case you don’t understand the point, it is this: the only way for Greece or Italy to stop people arriving is to kill them. Got it? That is why the fascist European politicians want Greece to do so, while at the same time taking no responsibility themselves for mass murder. This is the disgusting behaviour of Europe towards Greece, its disregard for the rule of law, and complete denial of the human rights of refugees from war that the USA and EU have themselves financed and caused in the Middle East and elsewhere.
1/ You have no proof of E. European politicians saying migrants should be let drown or shot at. We both know that.
2/ What actions did Greek governement undertake in cooperation with Turkey to lower the numbers of migrants leaving the Turkish coast in 2008 – 2010? What actions did Greek governement undertake to win the cooperation and good will of Turkey in that regard?
3/ Sure. After bombarding of Lybia (with participation of Italy) and after ignoring migrant influx in years 2008 – 2010 (Greece) both Italy and Greece are in disadvantageous situation now. If you didnt understand the point it was following: why did your governement allowed for the situation to evolve like this?
What about drowning and concentration camps bigger than the Nazis had?
dikaiologitika.gr/eidhseis/politikes-eidhseis/92039/g-mouzalas-oi-velgoi-mas-eipan-na-riksoume-tous-metanastes-sti-thalassa
The same bastards that ignored the daily violation of Greek airspace and Greek sea by Turkish war-mutants are the same bastards that “criticize” that Greek defence gets their 2% and now you come up and tell Greece to suck Erdo’s Gun?
So even your anti-migrant campaign and your racist attitude falls back behind this and it’s “Europeans” like you that let his balls grow day by day because you will always find some Turkish excuses to invade Greece because it’s the same people like you that tell Greeks to “sell” islands to Turkey and btw there are already existing “deals” regarding refugees with Turkey since more than ten years but they were never ratified by Ankara.
This reminds blatantly of all these Turks that were believing in German Goebbels media’s anti-Greek lies and now cry about that German media is doing the same against Turkey.
Anyway there will be civil war in Central Europe if Turkey invades but then you will take antifascists for scapegoats for not tolerating your Turkish Nazi buddies.
No, there is plenty of proof. What I know is that you are a moron who knows nothing but likes to post crap. I am not going to respond to your garbage.
“Homework”? This is Westerwelle Schauble with an Austrian passport and part of an anti-Greek troll-army, Fallmerayer-School of Racism, beside “homework” favourites are “deliver” and “end of the day”, “translated” into Krautish makes you laugh yerself to death.