Turkey's foreign ministry flatly rejected the European Parliament's annual report on its EU accession bid Wednesday, cal...

Turkey's foreign ministry flatly rejected the European Parliament's annual report on its EU accession bid Wednesday, calling it built on "baseless allegations and disinformation" and accusing EU lawmakers of platforming "terrorist organizations and anti-Turkey circles." The EP report, adopted by majority vote, confirmed what has been clear for years: Turkey's accession process is effectively frozen due to persistent failures on democracy, rule of law, and fundamental freedoms. Rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor said negotiations cannot resume without substantial reforms and accused Ankara of showing little willingness to align with European democratic standards. Sanchez Amor specifically called out the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, arguing that prosecuting opposition figures and activists is flatly incompatible with EU membership progress. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos backed that assessment, telling lawmakers there had been no tangible progress on rule of law or political freedoms despite Turkey remaining a NATO ally and formal candidate country. Turkey's ministry fired back that the report undermined a "positive agenda" between Ankara and Brussels at a moment when it claims the strategic importance of EU-Turkey relations is growing. It also rejected criticism of Justice Minister Akin Gurlek and denied any misrepresentation of its judiciary, calling it fully independent. Greece and Cyprus came up directly during the debate. Sanchez Amor said a workable framework for coexistence between Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus remains essential to any forward movement in EU-Turkey relations, noting that trust deficits and disputes over good-neighborly relations persist on both fronts. Cyprus remains divided, Turkey still refuses to recognize the Republic of Cyprus, and the EU has shown no urgency to resolve it. Turkey's accession process has been stalled for years and there is no realistic path to revival under current conditions, according to the parliament. #Turkey #EU #Cyprus