VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – by Nina LAMPARSKI
Austria’s government said Thursday that Turkey is unfit to join the European Union in the wake of the recent post-coup crackdown, calling for the bloc to discuss ending membership talks.
Turkey’s longstanding, and recently revived, bid to join the EU has already been hit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s suggestion that he may reintroduce the death penalty after the July 15 attempted putsch.
“We have to face reality: the membership negotiations are currently no more than fiction,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern told the Die Presse newspaper in comments published Thursday.
“We know that Turkey’s democratic standards are far from sufficient to justify its accession.”
Asked by public broadcaster ORF whether he wanted to halt the talks, Kern said he would initiate a debate on the matter at a summit of leaders on September 16.
Austrian Defence Minister Hans-Peter Doskozil meanwhile compared Turkey to a “dictatorship”, adding that “such a state has no place in the EU”.
“The time has come to… clearly say that the EU’s negotiations with Turkey have to be suspended or ended,” Doskozil told the Austria Press Agency in an interview published Thursday.
‘Disturbing’ comments
The Austrian government said that apart from rights issues, Turkey’s economy also remained far below the EU average and well short of membership requirements.
Making Ankara a part of the EU’s single market would spark “massive economic upheaval” in a bloc already struggling to cope with its enlargement toward eastern and central Europe, Kern warned.
Instead, the EU should seek “new alternatives” to help bring Turkey’s economy closer to European standards.
“(The country) remains an important partner in security and integration matters,” Kern said, highlighting NATO member Turkey’s key role in the ongoing migrant crisis.
In March, Turkey and the EU signed a controversial deal in which Ankara agreed to take back migrants landing on Greek islands in exchange for political and financial incentives.
In addition to visa-free travel, the pact includes billions of euros in aid and accelerated EU membership talks.
Kern said he did not believe that a halt to accession talks would torpedo the refugee pact.
“Economically, we have the upper hand. Turkey depends on us,” he added.
Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik called Kern’s comments “extremely disturbing”.
“Criticism is a democratic right but there must be a distance between criticising Turkey and anti-Turkey attitude,” he said.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, refused to directly comment on the Austrian chancellor’s remarks.
However, Commission deputy spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said membership talks were measured against a series of requirements including “the respect for the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
“At the moment… the opening of further negotiation chapters is not under discussion (among leaders),” she said.
Turkey’s EU membership bid dates back to 1963, with its formal application made in 1987 and negotiations starting in 2005.