EU votes to withhold funding as Turkish democracy limps
The European Union will withhold 70 million euros over Turkey's failure to stop its democratic decline in a blow sure to hurt Ankara where it counts.
The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly today to withhold 70 million euros in pre-accession funding after members decided that Turkey had failed to arrest democratic backsliding. The chamber voted 544 in favor and 28 against the motion to retain from Turkey the funding extended to countries that are in full membership talks with the European Union.
Turkey began formally negotiating with the European alliance in 2005. It is the first candidate country to be slapped with such sanctions, Deutsche Welle reported.
In a statement outlining the reasons for withholding financing, Romanian member of the European Parliament’s Christian Democrat bloc Siegfried Muresan noted the body’s concern over Turkey’s growing estrangement from European values and the deterioration in fundamental rights and freedoms in the country.
The move comes amid a severe economic downturn in Turkey that has seen a big jump in inflation, with the Turkish lira shedding around 40% of its value since the start of the year.
