Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

The European Parliament adopted a temporary motion on November 24, urging member states to freeze Turkey's accession in the bloc, the Daily Sabah reported.

The vote threatens to deepen the rift between Ankara and the European Union, although it will not be binding and European Union states are for the most part against halting the drawn-out accession process.

The Ministry of EU Affairs has released a statement regarding the vote on Turkey-EU relations, saying that the European Council has the final decision-making power to temporarily suspend membership negotiations.

"Even if a decision suggesting the suspension of negotiations with Turkey is made after voting in the European Parliament, such a decision will not be legally binding" the statement added.

Earlier in the week, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini warned that halting Turkey's accession process would be a "lose-lose" move.

Last Friday, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he hopes Turkey will not give up on negotiations for the country to be part of the European Union, and that such a would not be a win for Europe.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the EU last week to make a decision by year's end on Turkey's membership or he would call a referendum on the matter, adding that Turkey is not constrained to joining the EU and it has other options as well.

Turkey formally applied for an EU member in 1987 and accession talks in 2005, even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc dates back to the 1960s.

The European Commission has proposed in May that the European Parliament and EU Council will lift visa restrictions for citizens of Turkey if Ankara fulfills the remaining conditions for abolishing visa entries until the end of June.

The list of pre-conditions included measures to prevent corruption, negotiations on an operational agreement with Europol (the EU police office), providing judicial cooperation with all EU member states, as well as the revision of the legislation on the fight against terrorism.

The EU and Turkey signed a refugee deal on March 18, which aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

However, relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained since the July 15 coup attempt. Ankara says it has not received enough support from its EU allies, while Brussels criticized the Turkish government's crackdown on the military coup plotters, urging Ankara to comply with the EU's rights and freedoms criteria.

Ankara criticized the European Union's stance on the PKK terror group and FETO, saying EU states are turning a blind eye to the terror attacks against the Turkish state and its people as well as the activities of the group within the borders of the EU.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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