Closure of HDP may spell end of Turkey's EU accession

EU Parliament isn’t planning to resume accession negotiations with Turkey, as MEPs point out that the country hasn’t marked much progress despite reclaiming that it wants to become an EU Member over the last two years.

According to a press release issued by the European Parliament, the continued deterioration of human rights in Turkey is one of the main factors for the country’s lack of progress, and MEPs called for the Commission to provide funding for the pro-democracy efforts in Turkey.

European Parliament Standing Rapporteur for Turkey Nacho Sánchez Amor has said he does not think the process for Turkey gaining membership in the European Union will continue if the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is closed down, Euronews Turkish service reported.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court in June 2021 accepted an indictment filed by a prosecutor seeking the closure of the HDP and the imposition of a political ban on 451 party members as well as a freeze of the party’s bank accounts for alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey’s relations with the EU date back to 1963. The country was named a candidate in 1999, and negotiations for full membership started in 2005. The EU has suspended talks with Turkey due to the EU’s unhappiness with what the union has described as a decline of democratic norms in the country.

Turkey’s incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accused by critics of establishing one-man rule in the country, engaging in massive corruption and using the state’s resources for the benefit of his family and cronies while the Turkish people are overwhelmed by the increasing cost of living caused by the depreciation of the Turkish lira and a record level of inflation at around 70 percent.

Turkey is scheduled to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023. Public surveys show Erdogan and his election ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), losing considerable public support.