EU Rapporteur For Turkey Warns Turkish Talks Will Be Suspended If Erdogan Gets “Unchecked Powers”

Just hours after the predictable passage of today’s Turkish referendum, the EU has promptly slammed the outcome, warning it threatens to slide the country’s collapse into “authoritarianism” and that Turkey’s accession talks with the EU will be suspended if the constitutional package is implement as per today’s outcome.

In a post on the website of Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur warned that if the referendum package is implemented unchanged, “this will have to lead to the formal suspension of the EU accession talks. Continuing to talk about Turkey’s integration into Europe under the current circumstances has become a farce.”

In her role as EU rapporteur for Turkey, Piri is responsible for drafting and presenting reports on Turkey’s progress to the EU parliament; rapporteurs are elected by other members of the European Parliament. Needless to say, her view of today’s referendum is hardly enthusiastic:

“The result of today’s vote is a major shift away from European values. Erdogan’s autocratic behaviour has deeply polarized Turkish society and harmed the economy. His accusations towards some EU leaders on ‘nazi practices’, seriously undermined Turkey’s credibility as a political partner.”

She then warns that after today’s referendum result, Turkey would become an “authoritarian system” which will give President Erdogan “unchecked powers.”

Which, of course, is the whole point.

As to how far Europe will go to antagonize Erdogan, recall that the Turkish president and soon, dictator, has some 2 million trump cards in the form of Syrian refugees contained inside Turkey’s borders, all just waiting for the green sign to flood Europe and unleash even more populist havoc in a continent where populism has emerged as the single biggest threat to the legacy status quo.

Full note from her website:

In an unfair election environment, a narrow majority of the Turkish population has endorsed the constitutional package that will give President Erdogan unchecked powers – which will fit an authoritarian system.

 

“This is a sad day for all democrats in Turkey. It is clear that the country cannot join the EU with a constitution that doesn’t respect the separation of powers and has no checks and balances. If the package is implemented unchanged, this will have to lead to the formal suspension of the EU accession talks. Continuing to talk about Turkey’s integration into Europe under the current circumstances has become a farce,” says the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur Kati Piri.

 

Piri: “The result of today’s vote is a major shift away from European values. Erdogan’s autocratic behaviour has deeply polarized Turkish society and harmed the economy. His accusations towards some EU leaders on ‘nazi practices’, seriously undermined Turkey’s credibility as a political partner.”

 

“I will continue to stand by all those fighting for democracy and fundamental rights in Turkey. Today’s outcome shows that there are millions of Turkish citizens who share the same European values and who chose for a different future for their country. The EU should never close the door to them.”