San Francisco Frontiers - EU says Turkey's crackdown on rights hampers membership bid

Turkey's bid to join the EU, which began with membership talks in 2005, has been effectively at an impasse for years.

"Our concerns about democratic standards remain," the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told journalists in Edirne, a city in northwestern Turkey.

"The latest developments affecting media freedom, the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and local democracy are widening the gap with Turkey's objective of joining the EU."

Rights groups have repeatedly accused Turkey of backsliding on democratic rights, citing pressure on independent media, the prosecution of journalists and opposition politicians, and growing restrictions on civil liberties.

Turkey's LGBTQ community has also come under increasing pressure in recent years, with authorities recently detaining scores of people, including activists.

Ankara says its policies are aimed at protecting family values and public order.

The commission's annual enlargement report, due out on October 28, "will reflect our serious concerns in these areas," Kos said.

"And I will also not shy away from stating the facts publicly and clearly."

Talks with NATO member Turkey over EU accession have largely stalled over Brussels' concerns about democratic backsliding, the rule of law and fundamental rights.

- 'New realities' -

In August, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brushed off Turkey's EU accession as no longer a priority, though Ankara hasn't shut the door on becoming a member.

Brussels has a strong interest in developing a mutually beneficial relationship with Ankara, whose strategic importance has increased amid changing geopolitical realities in Europe, Kos said.

"We have a strong interest in developing a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey, that reflects the new realities in Europe ... or (the) broader world today," she said of a necessity borne out of "hard facts".

She pointed to the Black Sea shipping attacks as evidence of the importance of cooperation.

"Europe's reality around the Black Sea has really fundamentally changed. We can see this (in) past days with the drone attacks on the ships in the Black Sea, the importance of our cooperation.

When visiting Ankara in February, she recalled saying the EU should reexamine its relationship with Turkey "with fresh eyes, exactly because of these new realities".

But closer EU-Turkey ties would also depend on Ankara's relations with member-state neighbours, which was "essential", she said in a nod to Turkey's often-fractious relationship with Greece.

"Strengthening these good neighbourly relations would help build trust between the EU and Turkey," she said.

"This will determine to a large extent how far we will be able to go with a renewed focus on EU-Turkey relations."

Y.Harris--SFF