Europe

EU Parliament wants to freeze Turkey membership talks

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this Oct. 29, 2016 file photo, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, follows a military honour guard walking to the mausoleum of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Republic Day in Ankara, Turkey. Since quashing a July coup attempt, Turkey’s president has used extraordinary powers from a state of emergency to arrest and purge thousands of opponents. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also vowed to back public demands to reinstate the death penalty and suggested submitting Turkey's long-sought goal of European Union membership to a referendum. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici/File) (The Associated Press)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a NATO parliamentary assembly meeting in Istanbul, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Erdogan has called on the United States and other nations to re-assess his country's proposal for the creation of a no-fly zone in northern Syria. Addressing the NATO meeting, Erdogan again criticized allies' reliance on Syrian Kurdish fighters to battle the Islamic State group.(Kayhan Ozer, Presidential Press Service, Pool photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

The European Union's legislature is asking the bloc to freeze membership negotiations with Turkey over the government's heavy-handed crackdown following a failed coup in July.

The European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution Thursday asking the 28-nation EU "to initiate a temporary freeze" on talks with Ankara until "disproportionate measures under the state of emergency in Turkey are lifted."

Anticipating the vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that his country's "struggle for its stability and future won't be interrupted by (European legislators') raising and lowering their hands."

Although the vote carries no immediate consequences, it underscores the increasing unease in Europe over Erdogan's tightening grip on power in the wake of the coup attempt.

Tens of thousands of people, including teachers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, have been arrested or fired.