De situatie in Turkije (debat) - Main contents
Bijdrage Hans van Baalen (ALDE ): Mr President, first of all, the relations between Turkey and the European Union and the Member States should be governed by facts and not by all kinds of emotions. This means we should be clear that everybody who has a role in the EU, its institutions or the Member States has denounced the coup d'état. There was no sympathy for it at all and there was a direct reaction.
Happily, today we see that both members of the opposition - of the democratic opposition in Turkey - and also some government representatives have come to the conclusion that there was some overreaction, and that the process of dealing with the aftermath of the coup d'état and bringing to justice those who committed it, or are thought to be involved in it, should be governed by independent judges and by the rule of law. That is vital.
Secondly, Turkey is an important neighbour of the European Union, and is a NATO partner, irrespective of the whole discussion about membership. This means that visa liberalisation should be subject to the criteria set. If they are met, liberalisation will follow. If not, it will take more time. No deadlines should be applied. The same goes for the membership issue.
Let us also come to the conclusion that the visa deal is on. It is good both for Turkey and for the European Union. The Turkish Government should do everything possible to prevent people who sympathise with Erdogan or Gülen taking to the streets in the Netherlands and in Germany: such activity should be stopped. And we should keep calm and have a constructive talk with Turkey.