The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly today to withhold 70 million euros in pre-accession funding after members decided that Turkey had failed to arrest democratic backsliding. The chamber voted 544 in favor and 28 against the motion to retain from Turkey the funding extended to countries that are in full membership talks with the European Union.
Turkey began formally negotiating with the European alliance in 2005. It is the first candidate country to be slapped with such sanctions, Deutsche Welle reported.
