EU commissioner says Turkey’s LGBTQ+ and media restrictions widen gap with membership goal

Edirne, Turkey. Turkey is moving further away from its goal of joining the European Union because of recent efforts to crack down on the LGBTQ+ community and restrict media freedoms, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said on Friday.

Restrictions on independent media

Last week, a Turkish court ordered access to independent news outlet T24’s website and social media accounts blocked after authorities said it had published 118 pieces of content over the past year deemed to constitute “LGBT propaganda”.

The decision was taken as part of the “My Family is Safe” investigation, a widening crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ groups. The government says the investigation aims to protect children and family values, but it has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and the EU.

EU concerns over democratic standards

Speaking to reporters in the northwestern province of Edirne, where she attended the opening of an EU-funded railway project, Kos said the bloc had a strong interest in developing a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey in light of “new realities” in Europe. However, concerns over democratic standards remained.

“The latest developments affecting media freedom, the rights of the LGBTQI+ people and local democracy are widening the gap with Turkey’s objective of joining the EU,” Kos said.

The EU’s annual enlargement report, due on October 28, will reflect “our serious concerns in these areas”, she said, adding that she would “not shy away from stating the facts publicly and clearly”.

There was no immediate reaction from the Turkish government to her remarks.

Growing need for EU-Turkey cooperation

Kos said the need for EU-Turkey cooperation had grown.

Turkey has been an official candidate for EU membership since 1999, but its accession process has long been frozen over issues ranging from its human rights record to democratic backsliding.

Despite the lack of progress towards membership, Turkey has sought to increase cooperation with the EU. It has repeatedly called for its customs union with the bloc to be updated and has asked to join various EU programmes.