PES President Sergei Stanishev said: “The EU won’t lower its standards on human rights or fundamental freedoms for Turkey or any other country. The last attack against press editor Can Dündar and his imprisonment along with his fellow journalist Erdem Gül show that media freedom in Turkey is still in danger. Under the deal with the EU, the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression, of assembly and association must be guaranteed.”
“The PES hopes that the current Turkish leadership is aware of the implications of the agreement reached with the EU. The deal requires Turkey to change its current overreaching anti-terror law and to make it fully compatible with civil liberties. Any visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens is absolutely conditional on the agreed benchmarks.”
