President of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Gianni Pittella and Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, on Monday condemned the “voting irregularities and unfair election environment“ during the referendum in Turkey the and call for the termination of Turkey`s EU accession talks, because “with such a constitution, Turkey cannot join the EU”.
Gianni Pittella in his statement spoke of “another harsh blow against democracy and rule of law has been dealt in Turkey” and “yet another decisive step away from Europe”.
Pittella said that “Erdoğan has closed his doors to the EU with this referendum” , pointing out that “the EU accession talks should be suspended once Turkey decides to implement the 18 constitutional amendments”.
“Many irregularities across the whole of Turkey have been alleged; irregularities that may cast a shadow on the final outcome. We, therefore, are looking forward to the official assessment by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) / Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) International Observation Mission”, Pittella said.
“We remain convinced that the majority of the Turkish citizens are still looking at democracy and rule of law as crucial benchmarks. Unfortunately, Erdoğan is increasingly turning Turkey into a personal authoritarian regime”, he added.
“The S&D Group will do whatever it takes to reinforce democracy and rule of law against the authoritarian drift carried out by the Erdoğan. Nevertheless, the S&D Group requests the Council to envisage all the necessary measures in order to suspend the EU accession talks with Turkey. Europe cannot turn a blind eye and remain silent – and Europe will not“, Pittella underlined.
S&D MEP Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, spoke of “a sad day for all democrats in Turkey“.
“In an unfair election environment a very narrow majority has endorsed a constitutional change that will give president Erdoğan unchecked powers. With such a constitution, Turkey cannot join the EU”, she said.
“As rapporteur, I`ll continue to stand by all those fighting for democracy and fundamental rights in Turkey. Today`s outcome shows there are millions of Turkish citizens who share the same European values and who chose a different future for their country. The EU should never close the door to them“, she added.