About: Turkish referendum Archives

Exit polls showing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) far ahead of Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) were greeted with relief in Brussels yesterday night (15 March), amid fears of a surge in populism in Europe, with elections in France and Germany still to come in 2017.

NATO urged Turkey and Austria today (15 March) to settle a dispute over Ankara's EU membership bid, which has led Turkey to block cooperation with the alliance's partner countries.

Hackers supporting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today (15 March) defaced Twitter accounts of top individuals and institutions with Nazi jibes, as the EU hit back at Ankara's behaviour in an escalating crisis.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prompted a fresh outcry in The Netherlands yesterday (14 February) with a jibe about the Srebrenica massacre, warning of retaliation in a spiralling diplomatic crisis.

The European Commission highlighted the “serious concerns” expressed by the Council of Europe on Monday (13 March) over the amendments to the Turkish Constitution which are due to be voted on in the 16 April referendum.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said yesterday (9 March) he would not welcome the Turkish foreign minister to the Netherlands if he was coming to solicit the votes of local Turks in a constitutional referendum that could give more power to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The EU lacks rules regulating election activism by third countries on its territory. Recent Turkish campaign attempts in Germany, Austria and other countries will be one of the issues to be discussed at the 9-10 March summit.

Germany rejected as "absurd" yesterday (6 March) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's comparison of its ban on several rallies to the Nazi era, but it also stressed the importance of ties between the two NATO allies in an attempt to defuse an escalating war of words.