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EU committee calls for suspending Turkish accession talks over rights violations

The EU Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has called for freezing accession talks with Ankara as Turkish prosecutors seek life sentences for philanthropist Osman Kavala and 15 other Turks.
European Union Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier speaks during a plenary session of the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RC1E5D8D6500

In a further blow to Turkey’s withering European aspirations, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament told the European Commission and EU member states today to freeze accession talks with Ankara over its shoddy human rights record, partisan judiciary and ongoing territorial dispute over the divided island of Cyprus

The call came as the committee voted on the EU Commission’s annual Turkey report, which will be taken up during a March 11 plenary session of the European Parliament. Some 47 lawmakers voted in favor and seven others against the report, which also noted the high level of corruption in Turkey. 

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