Türkiye: Speech by the High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell in the EP plenary on the case of Bülent Mumay

Speech delivered by Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell

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Madam President, Honourable Members,

The human rights situation and the rule of law in Türkiye is not improving and remain of serious concern, as we have assessed from our continuous monitoring on the ground. The Commission's annual enlargement reports on Türkiye continuously highlight the different relevant shortcomings, while providing specific guidance to Türkiye on how to address them.

In this context, we have made clear to our Turkish interlocutors that they urgently need to make concrete and sustained progress in the respect of fundamental rights, which are the cornerstone of European Union-Türkiye relations. Our concerns are also conveyed by the EU Delegations to the Council of Europe, to the United Nations (UN) and to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The European Union remains steadfast in its commitment to protect the right of journalists to express themselves freely. Independent media plays a key role in holding decision-makers accountable, an essential part of the necessary checks and balances on governments.

Unfortunately, the case of Mr Mumay is indicative of a worrying trend in Türkiye, where activities of journalists, writers, lawyers, academics, human rights defenders, opposition politicians and critical voices have continuously been restricted through arrests, detentions, prosecutions and convictions. These practices continued to hinder the exercise of their freedoms and lead to self-censorship.

The European Union has a longstanding and clear message on media freedom and the freedom of expression in Türkiye . As an EU candidate country and long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Türkiye should apply the highest democratic standards and practices. Criminal law should never be used to silence diverging views or critical voices.

Since early 2023, there has been re-engagement between the European Union and Türkiye. Despite this development, the grave domestic human rights and rule of law situation, including the non-implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgments, continues to show that the European Union-Türkiye relationship still has many hurdles to overcome.

Honourable Members of the European Parliament, let me assure you that dialogue on the rule of law and fundamental rights is and will remain an integral part of the European Union-Türkiye relationship.

We will continue to impress upon Turkish interlocutors that Türkiye should ensure a safe and pluralist environment that enables the media and journalists to carry out their work independently and without fear of reprisals and dismissals. This includes ending the practice of both state and non-state agents of intimidating, interfering with, and putting pressure on the media.

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