Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Madam President, Turkey has been moving in the wrong direction for an EU candidate country for some time under President Erdoğan and, sadly, the war in Syria and the July 2016 coup attempt have provided ample opportunity for a more openly hostile approach by the AK Parti to Western democratic norms. We therefore see today a Turkey that openly violates civil and human rights at home and pursues a foreign policy objective directly opposed to the aims of its EU and NATO allies abroad.

The situation in Afrin is the starkest of those decisions yet, as only two days ago Turkey announced in somewhat sinister terms that nearly 1 000 so-called terrorists had been neutralised since the assault began on 20 January. By ‘neutralised’, we are to read ‘surrendered’, ‘captured’ or ‘killed’. By ‘terrorists’, we are to read ‘members of the Kurdish YPG’, who have been bravely fighting against Isis across northern Syria with the support of US troops, who continue to fight alongside the YPG. The Americans have refused Turkish requests to remove their troops, paving the way for a potential clash between Turkish and US forces. Such behaviour from a NATO ally and EU candidate country is extremely concerning. Finding a way back to the peace talks between Ankara and the Kurds in Turkey will be one of the keys to normalising politics in Turkey in future, but ahead of the presidential elections at the end of next year, such prospects seem a distant hope.

Furthermore, I hope that the welcomed re-election of President Anastasiades of Cyprus will lead to renewed reunification talks, where Turkish cooperation is again vital but has, to date, been lacking. Turkey has still not implemented the Ankara Protocols, recognised Cypriot rights to gas exploration, or accepted that it must withdraw its occupying forces from northern Cyprus. Turkey must do more, and it must do more to support the goodwill that exists on that island – but, sadly, that looks very unlikely in my opinion.