The European Union should end accession negotiations with Turkey completely due to President Tayyip Erdogan’s “undemocratic initiatives” and his support for reintroducing the death penalty, Denmark’s governing party said on Tuesday (9 August).
“The red line is crossed for what should be a minimum for an EU candidate country,” foreign policy spokesman for the governing Liberal Party, Michael Aastrup Jensen, told Reuters.
“It should lead not only to a pause in the negotiations but to a downright stop, and a removal of Turkey from the list of candidate countries,” he said.
The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comments.
On Sunday (7 August), Austria’s foreign minister threatened to block EU negotiations with Turkey.
Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said today that the country would stop implementing its agreement with the European Union to stem the flow of migrants into the bloc if the EU does not provide a clear date to grant visa-free travel to Turks.
In an interview with Turkey’s Haberturk television, Celik said asking Turkey to change its terrorism laws, a key demand from the EU to finalise visa-free travel, would mean endangering Europe’s own security.
Though much-criticised by rights advocates, EU’s migrant deal with Turkey helped sharply cut the number of refugees and migrants reaching European shores, giving EU politicians breathing space after around 1.3 million people reached the continent last year.
