European Union leaders used on Wednesday strong language towards Ankara for the “Nazi remarks” by Turkish officials, saying they were “unacceptable” and “detached from reality”.
Speaking during the European Parliament plenary session, in Strasbourg, all three Presidents of the EP, the European Commission and the European Council expressed their support with the Netherlands, the main target of these remarks.
“The European Union is not joining Turkey. Turkey is joining the European Union,” said Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, stressing that he will never accept this comparison between the Nazis and the governments currently in power.
He added that his home country, Luxembourg, was occupied by the Nazis and the people were suffering. “If you are establishing a comparison of that period with our times, this is totally unacceptable. And the one who is doing this is taking distance from Europe and not trying to enter the European Union” Juncker pointed out.
At the start of the debate, EP President Antonio Tajani also referred to the Netherlands and said that we cannot limit ourselves to a simple declaration, since Europe is more than a single market.
Later, European Council President Donald Tusk spoke in Dutch, in a display of solidarity, noting that “The Netherlands is Europe, and today I want to say that Europe is the Netherlands”.
He added that those who see fascism in Rotterdam “are completely detached from reality”. This is the city of Erasmus, brutally destroyed by the Nazis, which today has a Mayor born in Morocco, Tusk said.
He referred moreover to the outcome of the March 9-10 European Council and the “Rome declaration” that will be adopted later this month, on the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. Things are getting better in every member state of the Union, he said, a point which, according to Tusk, proves that “our economic strategies are on the right track”.
He noted that when discussing the various scenarios for Europe, the main objective should be to strengthen mutual trust and unity among 27, an objective with which all 27 leaders agree. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” he noted and said that the 60th anniversary is an opportunity for sober reflection.
Speaking on Brexit, the Council President said that he will do everything in his power to make sure that the EU and the UK will be close friends in the future, and added that “the EU`s door will always remain open for our British friends”.
A `no deal scenario` would be bad for everyone, but above all for the UK, Tusk noted.
In his remarks on the various scenarios for the future of Europe, European Commission President said that enhanced cooperation is not a step towards fresh division. “Our goal is not to create another iron curtain in Europe” he said.
Moreover, he added that he does not agree with the second scenario included in the White Paper on the future of Europe, according to which that the EU will gradually focus into nothing but the single market. Europe is more than a market, Juncker noted.
Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech also contributed in the debate, with references to the Rome declaration and the need to meet people’s aspirations.
From their part, political group leaders also made references to the situation in Turkey and Ankara’s relations with the EU. European People`s Party Group Chair Manfred Weber said that Turkey’s accession to the EU is not a realistic prospect any time soon, while the Chair of Socialists and Democrats Gianni Pittella noted that Turkey slips gradually into an illiberal condition.
The Chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Guy Verhofstadt said that Turkey should liberate imprisoned European journalists before asking for free speech to be respected for its own Ministers in Europe. Others asked finally to suspend financing or accession negotiations with Turkey.
