The chances of Turkey joining the European Union are getting worse and worse

Ankara - As reported by Die Welt, the EU Commission criticizes in the EU Commission's latest annual progress report on the accession talks that Ankara has "made no progress in fighting corruption" and still has no effective separation of powers and that there are "serious concerns about the functioning of the economy remain". In addition, the report says, "Turkish foreign policy increasingly collides with the EU priorities of a common foreign and security policy (CFSP)." Specifically, the EU Commission accuses Ankara of "illegal actions and provocative statements" against Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

The EU Commission's progress report is to be presented to the EU Parliament on Tuesday afternoon. The Commission's report continued: "Turkey continues to move further and further away from the European Union and is experiencing serious setbacks in terms of democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary. The ongoing arrests of opposition leaders, human rights activists, Journalists, civil society members and academics in the context of comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation is deeply worrying. "

With regard to fundamental rights, the Commission notes: "In Turkey, human rights violations continued unabated and those who campaigned for human rights were frequently arrested." On the subject of the independence of the judiciary, the EU Commission explains in the report: "In Turkey, the serious setbacks that have been observed since the attempted coup in 2016 have continued. Political pressure and the transfer of a large number of judges and prosecutors against their will went further, undermining the independence of the Turkish judiciary. There is still great concern about the lack of systemic independence of the judiciary, including the establishment of a parallel system of so-called justices of the peace ".In addition to massive criticism, there is also restrained praise for the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Turkey needs to revise its counterterrorism legislation. While Turkey continues to face threats from terrorist groups, the fight against terrorism has led to an improved security situation. Turkey continued its fight against domestic and foreign terrorist cells." The report from Brussels praised the fact that Turkey worked with the EU to track down and return foreign terrorist fighters. "Some progress" has also been made in migration and asylum policy. The report says literally: "In 2019, Turkey endeavored to implement the EU-Turkey Agreement of March 2016. It played a key role in the effective management of migratory flows along the Eastern Mediterranean route. ”Brussels also praised Turkey's“ outstanding efforts ”in caring for nearly four million refugees from Syria (3.6 million) and other countries, "because in March 2020 [Turkey] actively encouraged migrants and refugees to take the land route to Europe through Greece."

Source: DerNewsticker.de

Photo: Daily Sabah.