'Europe should not turn the page with Erdogan without actual democratic reforms'

Ahval

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken about his desire to turn over a new leaf with Europe, but that might not happen without repairing the damage he’s done to Turkish democracy. Last November was when Erdogan first showed any openness to improving relations with the European Union (E.U), stating “We see ourselves nowhere else but in Europe.” In a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on January 10, the two discussed improving relations in what the E.U President called a “good exchange.” Among the topics covered according to a readout from Erdogan’s office was a discussion on how to move forward on Turkey’s stalled bid to join the bloc. Behind any negotiations about improving relations is deep disagreements over the state of Turkish democracy after two decades under Erdogan. In December, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkey must release opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas from custody over what it considered politically-motivated terrorism charges. A year earlier, the ECHR also ordered the release of civil society activist Osman Kavala from custody on similar grounds, but Erdogan has refused in both cases to respect either ruling. Kati Piri, a member of the European Parliament from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), does not believe that Erdogan should be obliged to his “new leaf” if that means ignoring his continued erosion of human rights in Turkey. “I do not understand how Ankara thinks it will reset the agenda with the European Union,” Piri tol Ahval in a recent podcast interview. “They know what they have to do in order to reset relations, but I haven’t seen any of that seriously examined in Turkey.”