Global Geo-political Series: EU to slash pre-accession aid to Turkey by €105 million

The members of the European Union have agreed to cut accession funds to turkey to the tune of €105 million and freeze payments of another €70 million. The cuts included in the EU’s 2018 budget have been approved by both the European Council and the European Union citing deterioration of democratic values in the country. Turkey can still receive the €70 million if the democratic situation in the country improves. Siegfried Muresan, the European Parliament’s chief budget negotiator, said, “As long as Turkey is not respecting freedom of speech, human rights, and is drifting further away from European democratic standards, we cannot finance such a regime with EU funds”.

In October, the European Union was discussing to cut funds to the tune of €80 million and freeze €30 million but it seems that the EU has hardened its stance since then. Turkey’s accession talks, launched in 2005, have ground to a halt amid an ongoing crackdown on the opposition that saw thousands of military and civil servants arrested, which was unleashed by Turkish government following a failed coup attempt in July last year. It is now looking increasingly likely that Turkey would not join the European Union even in the distant future. Several EU countries, including Germany, have already demanded an end to the talks and process.