February 14, 2023, 11:34 – BLiTZ – News Swedish MEP Evin Incir made a statement that the country’s far-right parties, which are part of the ruling coalition, can fulfill some of the demands of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the country’s entry into NATO. It is reported by Euractive.
She stressed that in this context, the extradition of supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the Turkish authorities recognize as terrorist, is implied, and also links a number of its members with an attempted coup in the country in 2016.
“Abandoning issues related to the rule of law and international law should never be an option. <…> a foreign country cannot come in and tell another country how to change its laws. Especially when it weakens their freedom of speech,” said Inchir.
The MEP stressed that the Swedish authorities have already taken several steps towards the PKK. She also noted that Erdogan puts forward similar conditions for the Kurds, as he seeks to use his place in NATO in order to win the presidential election.
“Other NATO countries have a great responsibility to ensure that Erdogan and Turkey understand the importance of Sweden and Finland in NATO <…> If Erdogan really wants close cooperation with the EU, he needs to understand that he cannot hold two EU member states hostage,” Incir summed up her words.
Earlier, the BLiTZ reported that European Commission analysts called Sweden the only country in the EU whose economy will contract this year.
