EU Delays Turkey Accession Talks, Disapproves Of Protest Crackdown

June 25, 2013

The EU has decided to postpone talks with Ankara aimed at moving forward on Turkey's membership in the bloc until later this year. Germany had pushed for the delay, saying that a signal should be sent of the EU's disapproval of the recent crackdown on anti-government protests.

The EU had planned to breathe new life into Turkey's bid to join the 27-nation bloc. Talks were due to start Wednesday on opening a new chapter in the accession process.

But the crackdown on anti-government protests in cities across Turkey has dismayed many European countries.

Led by Germany, EU foreign ministers voted to delay the start of talks until mid-October at the earliest.

Guido Westerwelle is Germany's Foreign Minister.

"On the one hand, we can't pretend that negotiations take place in a vacuum as if the last days hadn't happened. On the other hand, we should also make sure that our joint long-term strategic interests are protected," said Westerwelle.

The decision to delay the talks was pragmatic, says Pawel Swidlicki, an analyst with the London-based policy group Open Europe.

"It's a face-saving exercise for all involved. No-one really wants to say that this process is going nowhere so they've agreed to kick the can down the road until after the German elections, because this will be a contentious issue in those elections," said Swidlicki.