The report published by the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) entitled “The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey” and which recommended placing Turkey under political monitoring was discussed at PACE General Assembly on 25 April 2017. In that context, the draft resolution including the abovementioned recommendations was adopted by 113 to 45 votes.

IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu reacted to the decision of PACE in a written statement. Indicating that Turkey is a founding member of the Council of Europe,

Zeytinoğlu also added that Turkey played a critical role within the framework of an international order which was set up following the end of the Second World War and which was re-organised after the end of the Cold War. He pursued his words as follows:

“Our country is a founding member of the Council of Europe. As such, it is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and all other Council of Europe regulations which are based on European values. It is very disappointing to see that Turkey has been placed under political monitoring once again after 13 years with the contention that it is not abiding by such values”.

Reminding that Turkey had been under political monitoring of the Council of Europe between 1996 and 2004, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu underscored that the reforms which were realised within the framework of the EU accession process contributed greatly to the ending of the political monitoring process for Turkey at that time.  As such, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu added the following:

“In the EU accession process, which began in 1999 and brought together the opening of accession negotiations in 2005, significant reforms were carried out in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria. These reforms not only allowed Turkey to be removed from the political monitoring mechanism of the Council of Europe, but also enabled it to become a rising country, which the international community has respected for its increasing stability and prosperity and which investors regarded as reliable. Turkey's EU anchor has always led to positive gains. Today, democracy, the rule of law and human rights need to be returned to the reform process”.

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu pointed out that Turkey is currently assessed within the context of the post-monitoring dialogue process and he further underlined the fact that it will be one of the members under the monitoring procedure together with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and the Russian Federation.

Finally, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu recalled that the process following the political developments and the referendum in Turkey will be discussed in the European Parliament on 26 April and that the EU Foreign Ministers are expected to evaluate the negotiations process at the Gymnich meeting of the foreign ministers on 28-29 April. As such, he called upon European countries not to take decisions that will have the impact of excluding Turkey further from the European family.   

Moreover, Zeytinoğlu stated that it is unacceptable and unfeasible to exclude Turkey from Europe and European institutions and he continued as follows:

“Throughout history we have seen that Turkey is an integral part of Europe. Today, this is still a very true affirmation. The fact that the EU has been blocking membership negotiations for political reasons has led to the lack of credibility of the membership perspective. It is of utmost importance for Europe and European organisations such as the CoE and the EU to adopt a  constructive, fair and unbiased approach towards Turkey rather than an exclusionary rhetoric, is not only important for Turkey, but it also holds critical importance for the security and welfare of Europe. The important role that Turkey played in the refugee crisis following the Syrian civil war is testimony to Turkey’s critical place in the protection of European borders. I hope that institutions such as the European Parliament, Commission and the EU Council will take a constructive approach towards Turkey, displaying a visionary perspective which will encourage reforms in Turkey.”