EU Parliament blocks Turkey's EU dream

The European Parliament yesterday voted in favour of a freeze of membership talks with Turkey over its post-coup crackdown, further escalating tensions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan has already dismissed the vote as having "no value" as it is non-binding, and as most European Union member states so far want to keep the Turkey talks on track.

But the motion, approved by a big majority, is a fresh blow to ties that have unravelled in the wake of the failed July 15 failed putsch and threatened a key migration deal between Brussels and Ankara.

MEPs voting in Strasbourg, France, said the parliament "strongly condemns the disproportionate repressive measures taken in Turkey since the failed military coup attempt".

They said they remained "committed to keeping Turkey anchored to the EU" but said parliament "calls on the Commission and the Member States, however, to initiate a temporary freeze of the ongoing accession negotiations with Turkey."

The motion was approved by 479 votes to 37, with 107 abstentions.

Europe's message has however been increasingly clear about its concerns over rights and democracy in Turkey, especially over the coup crackdown that has seen almost 37,000 arrested.

Turkey formally applied to become an EU member in 1987 and accession talks only began in 2005, even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc dates back to the 1960s.