BRUSSELS (AA) - Several members of the European Parliament on Tuesday said that unopened chapters in Turkey's EU policy alignment negotiations pushed the European Union to "inconsistency".
Helene Flautre, co-chair of EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee said, "If we had opened the negotiation chapters on 'judiciary and fundamental rights' and 'right to liberty and security', we could act more consistently now and I would feel much better."
Flautre, who received the support of the most of the European Parliament lawmakers, said that the failure to open and even to define the opening criteria for the two chapters diluted the effectiveness of EU's advices to Turkey about the fundamental rights and freedoms.
Flautre underlined that the discussion about the opening of regional policy and coordination of structural instruments on June 26 was also important for Turkey's ongoing efforts to find a solution to the Kurdish issue.
Flautre also said that EU had to strengthen its ties with Turkey during rather than to reduce and keep doors open for dialogue.
The European Union has postponed a parliamentary visit to Turkey following anti-government protests in Turkey.
EP member Elmar Brok said that a phone call with Turkish Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis was "not helpful" about the planned visit.
"We want to deepen our relations with Turkey. At the current situation, we are in favor of the continuation of contacts and the continuing the development of Turkey's European perspective," Brok said.
