In a report adopted on Tuesday by 448 votes in favour, 67 against and 107 abstentions, MEPs warn that in spite of Turkey’s repeated statements that it aims to become an EU member, over the past two years the country has consistently gone back on its commitments in relation to the accession process.

MEPs said on Tuesday that without clear and significant progress on EU-related reforms, Parliament cannot envisage resuming accession negotiations with Turkey.

The Parliament welcomed the recent "slight improvement in overall EU-Turkey relations, in particular, the high-level dialogues. This enhanced cooperation has unfortunately coexisted alongside regular conflicts, as relations with neighbouring EU member states remain challenging."

The report points to the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Turkey. MEPs regret the sustained legal and administrative pressure on civil society and human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists. They call on the Commission to provide sufficient funding for pro-democracy efforts in Turkey.

Importance of close EU-Turkey cooperation in foreign and security policy

Welcoming Turkey’s willingness to act as a mediator in the Russian war against Ukraine, MEPs stress the vital importance of good EU-Turkey cooperation in foreign and security policy in the current challenging times and thank the country for its firm alignment with NATO and the EU.

To sum-up, the EU Parliament "cannot at this stage justify modifying its position concerning the formal suspension of the accession negotiations with Turkey, which have effectively been at a standstill since 2018. By openly defying the binding rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the case of Osman Kavala and others, the current Turkish Government has deliberately demolished any aspirations of reopening the EU accession process at this time."

Turkish objections to Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications

MEPs called on the Turkish government to handle Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership applications in good faith, to engage constructively in efforts to solve possible outstanding issues and to refrain from exerting any undue pressure in this process. In the current serious circumstances, it is important that all NATO allies act with foresight and swiftly ratify the accession protocols of the two countries, they stress.