Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says the time has come for the EU to make a final decision about Turkey's bid for membership, which he called a "dead end." His comments came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel advised the EU to be clear in its criticism of Turkey, "because a good relationship with Turkey is in our own interests."
Michel says he has the impression that the EU accession process is not the right framework upon which to have successful dialogue with Turkey. Austria also seeks to end Turkey's membership bid. "Turkey's accession to the EU is, therefore, unthinkable," the Austrian Foreign Ministry says in a policy paper drafted in preparation for Austria's EU chairmanship in the second half of 2018.
Michel's coalition government faced criticism for not apprehending the Brussels bombers, who were deported from Turkey for their ties with Daesh but released upon their arrival to Europe.
Furthermore, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently said that Brussels condones the PKK, recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which attempted to stage a military coup in Turkey on July 15. "Condoning and providing overt or covert support to the groups you recognize as terrorist organizations. ...What kind of friendship or sincerity is that? Belgium currently acts as an important center for both the PKK and FETÖ," Erdoğan said, to which Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he found Erdoğan's accusations absurd, untrue and defamatory.
Some European politicians were not happy with the will of their nationals of Turkish origin, who hold dual citizenship. Hours after the unofficial Turkish referendum results were announced, parliamentarians from all three coalition parties of the federal Belgian government called for an end to the dual nationality practice, with Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V) lawmaker Hendrik Bogaert calling for the abolishment of dual citizenship. The deputy said that the abolition would apply only to people who combine their Belgian identity with a nationality outside of the EU. Such rhetoric is solely aimed at those supporting the Turkish leadership and is interpreted as another double standard of current populist European politics.
