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.