Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Change 1

ChangedF. whereas Türkiye has systematically instrumentalised criminal law and counterterrorism laws to crack down on elected officials, opposition politicians and human rights defenders; whereas the recent period has been marked by a severe deterioration in democratic standards and processes in Türkiye, both on the local and the national level, as a result of judicial decisions and governmental pressure exerted on opposition mayors and municipalities; whereas asince totalthe ofMarch 282024 local elections at least 39 mayors from opposition parties, specifically 1829 from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and 10 from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), were arrested and removed from office; whereas in 1113 cases, mayors were replaced with trustees appointed by the government;

Change 2

AddedG. whereas, after a prolonged legal process, on 21 May 2026, an Ankara Regional Court of Appeals issued a ruling of ‘absolute nullity’ (‘mutlak butlan’) concerning the CHP’s 2023 party congress, thereby annulling the election that brought Özgür Özel to the chair and the current party leadership into office; whereas this court ruling, despite pending possible appeals, was accompanied by a specific injunction in order to effectively remove from office the elected leadership and transfer its authority to the former chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and the previous Party Assembly; whereas three days later, on 24 May 2026, upon the request of former chair Kılıçdaroğlu’s team, Turkish riot police stormed the CHP headquarters in Ankara, using tear gas and violence to enforce the court decision ousting the elected leadership and reinstating the previous one;

Change 3

ChangedP.Q. whereas beyond the accession process, constructive engagement in EU-Türkiye relations is needed, whereas Türkiye is a member of NATO and a key partner for the stability in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region and in the areas of trade, economic relations, security, migration and cooperation against terrorism; whereas cooperation with Türkiye is advancing in a number of policy areas of common interest, including through high-level dialogues regarding the removal of trade barriers and increased cooperation on prevention of sanctions circumvention, and could further advance in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner fully in line with the April 2024 European Council conclusions,conclusions;

Change 4

ChangedQ.R. whereas Türkiye continues to host one of the largest refugee populations in the world; whereas EU-Türkiye cooperation on migration management, security and regional stability continues to be of strategic importance and contributes to the reduction of irregular and dangerous crossings on the Eastern Mediterranean route to Europe and in saving lives at sea; whereas since 2011 the EU has provided close to EUR 12.512,5 billion for the support of refugees and host communities in Türkiye;

Change 5

Removed12. Deplores the continued targeting of political parties and members of the opposition, who continue to suffer increasing pressure, particularly severe in the last year with regard to the main opposition party CHP; reiterates its strong condemnation of the continued detention and the removal from office of the Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Ekrem İmamoğlu of the CHP, in what has become a massive political case affecting more than 400 defendants including district mayors and officials, 105 of which are currently in pre-trial detention; welcomes the recent visits to Türkiye of EU mayors and city representatives and members of the European Committee of the Regions showing their solidarity and supportwith the defendants; echoes their call for the respect of municipal freedoms; is deeply concerned by the acceptance of the nearly 4 000-page indictment, prepared under the responsibility of the notorious former Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, in which İmamoğlu is accused of leading a vast criminal network and committing 142 offenses that could result in a sentence of up to 2 430 years in prison; welcomes the significant decision of the ECtHR to accept İmamoğlu’s application concerning alleged unlawful detention under its ‘priority case’ procedure; condemns the long-standing targeting of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the CHP’s current presidential candidate, through a maze of dozens of investigations, overlapping judicial cases and arbitrary administrative decisions, including another recent indictment on charges of ‘political espionage’ and the unlawful and politically motivated revocation of his university diploma, a requisite for his eligibility to be Turkish President; deplores the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court’s decision on 23 January 2026 to reject İmamoğlu’s request to overturn the revocation decision; is deeply concerned by the staggering number of procedures filed at the GNAT seeking the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of current MPs, which overwhelmingly affect members of opposition parties; emphasises that these actions undermine the prospect for a stronger more comprehensive EU-Türkiye partnership and overall improved relations; calls on all political actors in Türkiye to engage seriously in strengthening the GNAT as a pluralist chamber, to address the challenges facing Turkish society, and to lay the foundations for a democratic future;

Added12. Condemns the Turkish Government’s relentless targeting of political parties and members of the opposition, which has been particularly severe over the last year in the case of the main opposition party CHP, moving Türkiye yet further away from already limited party competition toward fully authoritarian rule; strongly condemns the politically engineered removal from office of CHP elected Chairperson Özgür Özel and party leadership, following a court ruling that declared the 2023 CHP congress null and void and opted to reinstate the former party leadership; calls on the Government of Türkiye to cease these abuse tactics, which constitute a grave attack on democratic pluralism, the rule of law, and the sovereign will of party members and voters in Türkiye; considers this case the latest example of a broader pattern of repression against the opposition, involving the weaponisation of the judicial system with the aim of eliminating potential competitors in future elections, thereby further entrenching Türkiye in a fully authoritarian system; calls on the Commission and Member States to condemn the CHP leadership suspension publicly and privately in its exchanges with the Turkish Government and engage more constructively with opposition parties in Türkiye; is concerned about the risks of a protracted internal crisis inside the main opposition party in the absence of a swift congress that would allow party members to democratically determine their leadership;

Removed13. Is gravely concerned by the further deterioration of local democracy in Türkiye; strongly condemns the dismissals and arrests of 28 elected mayors from opposition parties and dozens of local officials, as well as the replacement of 11 mayors with trustees appointed by the government, often in connection with the overly broad and arbitrary application of Türkiye’s anti-terror legislation or unsubstantiated corruption allegations; reiterates its consideration of this long-standing practice of appointing trustees as a blatant attack on the most basic principles of local democracy; urges the Turkish authorities to immediately cease and reverse the repression of opposition municipalities – including through the selective seizure of financial assets – and to respect the rights of voters to elect their chosen representatives in line with the recommendations of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission; highlights that the dismantling of local democracy significantly weakens state capacity, notably for the provision of services, crisis response (such as for earthquakes) and social services for refugees and vulnerable groups, and therefore threatens human security;

Added13. Reiterates its strong condemnation of the continued detention and the removal from office of the Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Ekrem İmamoğlu of the CHP, in what has become a massive political case affecting more than 400 defendants including district mayors and officials, 105 of which are currently in pre-trial detention; strongly rejects the Ankara regional court’s decision, on 21 May 2026, to annul the decision of the 38th ordinary and 21st extraordinary CHP conventions and to reinstall former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu over current leader Özgür Özel; regards this ruling as a flagrant example of state interference in the internal matters of the biggest opposition party; condemns, furthermore, the arrest, on 4 April 2026, of elected opposition mayor Mustafa Bozbey, alongside several members of the CHP, reportedly on false charges of corruption and bribery; considers these developments as further evidence of the systemic erosion of democratic governance and political pluralism at local level in Türkiye; welcomes the recent visits to Türkiye of EU mayors and city representatives and members of the European Committee of the Regions showing their solidarity and supportwith the defendants; echoes their call for the respect of municipal freedoms; is deeply concerned by the acceptance of the nearly 4 000-page indictment, prepared under the responsibility of the notorious former Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, in which İmamoğlu is accused of leading a vast criminal network and committing 142 offenses that could result in a sentence of up to 2 430 years in prison; welcomes the significant decision of the ECtHR to accept İmamoğlu’s application concerning alleged unlawful detention under its ‘priority case’ procedure; condemns the long-standing targeting of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the CHP’s current presidential candidate, through a maze of dozens of investigations, overlapping judicial cases and arbitrary administrative decisions, including another recent indictment on charges of ‘political espionage’ and the unlawful and politically motivated revocation of his university diploma, a requisite for his eligibility to be Turkish President; deplores the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court’s decision on 23 January 2026 to reject İmamoğlu’s request to overturn the revocation decision; is deeply concerned by the staggering number of procedures filed at the GNAT seeking the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of current MPs, which overwhelmingly affect members of opposition parties; emphasises that these actions undermine the prospect for a stronger more comprehensive EU-Türkiye partnership and overall improved relations; calls on all political actors in Türkiye to engage seriously in strengthening the GNAT as a pluralist chamber, to address the challenges facing Turkish society, and to lay the foundations for a democratic future;

Added14. Is gravely concerned by the further deterioration of local democracy in Türkiye; strongly condemns the dismissals and arrests of at least 39 elected mayors from opposition parties and dozens of local officials, as well as the replacement of 13 mayors with trustees appointed by the government, often in connection with the overly broad and arbitrary application of Türkiye’s anti-terror legislation or unsubstantiated corruption allegations; reiterates its consideration of this long-standing practice of appointing trustees as a blatant attack on the most basic principles of local democracy; urges the Turkish authorities to immediately cease and reverse the repression of opposition municipalities – including through the selective seizure of financial assets – and to respect the rights of voters to elect their chosen representatives in line with the recommendations of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission; is deeply concerned by the recent legal reform requiring local governments, their affiliated entities and municipally controlled companies to obtain presidential approval before establishing companies or cooperatives and making other strategic financial decisions, thereby significantly expanding central executive oversight over local economic decision-making and further undermining the shrinking autonomy of local governments; highlights that the dismantling of local democracy significantly weakens state capacity, notably for the provision of services, crisis response (such as for earthquakes) and social services for refugees and vulnerable groups, and therefore threatens human security;

Change 6

Changed15.16. Continues to deplore the ongoing and intensifying prosecution, censorship and harassment of journalists and independent media, denying them the freedom to carry out their professional duties and inform the public, which is essential to a functioning democratic society; is deeply worried by reports indicating that up to 90 % of the national media is now pro-government or under government control; deeply regrets, in this regard, the seizure by the Turkish Government of TELE1, one of the few remaining critical broadcasters, which is now under trustee control, and considers this a deliberate attack on media freedom; condemns the harassment of independent journalists who, in 2025, suffered an increased number of arrests and detentions mainly connected to accusations of ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’, ‘insulting the President’ or the alleged violation of the law on assemblies and demonstrations; follows with great concern the cases of Deutsche Welle reporter Alican Uludağ, who was recentlyarrested detainedbecause byof thirtysocial policemedia officersposts made more than one year ago, was held in fronta ofmaximum-security hisprison familyfor over 90 days and was laterrecently arrestedreleased, overalthough socialthe mediacharges postsagainst madehim morehave thannot onebeen yeardropped ago,and his trial will resume in September, of TELE1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardağ, who is currently imprisoned over ‘espionage’ allegations, of Medyascope reporter Furkan Karabay, who was has been arrested repeatedly over the last three years and was recently put under house arrest for two months, of TV anchor Sedef Kabaş, who is facing another judicial case for her social media posts, of veteran journalist Fatih Altayli, who was recently released pending his appeal of a sentence of more than four years in jail on ludicrous charges of physically threatening the Turkish President, of BirGün reporter İsmail Arı, who was recently arrested on alleged charges of ‘disinformation’ for his investigative work, and of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, among others; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained journalists; strongly deplores the instrumentalisation of the Radio and Television Supreme Council, which should be independent, to further stifle independent media through financial and broadcasting sanctions, which are overwhelmingly imposed on critical outlets; deplores the multiple and systematic actions against freedom of expression online, including repeated restrictions on internet access, bandwidth throttling, broadcast bans and blocking of social network accounts, websites and thousands of news stories, alongside content removal requests meant to silence journalists and ordinary citizens, frequently on the grounds of ‘national security and public order’; condemns the instrumentalisation of legal provisions by the Turkish authorities to curtail journalists’ work and exert targeted pressure on them; calls on the Turkish authorities to immediately ensure the protection of freedom of expression and media freedom and to guarantee that no individual is deprived of liberty solely for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights, in line with Türkiye’s international human rights obligations;

Change 7

Changed18.19. Remains deeply concerned about the state of academic freedom and institutional independence, as illustrated by the deteriorating situation in Boğaziçi University since the appointment, in 2021, of its rector by a decision of the Turkish President; considers this extension of the trustee model to academic institutions, which has produced a clear negative impact on the academic life and performance of the institution, to be a further departure from EU standards on academic freedom, mirroring the government’s attempts to tighten control on any space of possible dissent; calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure democratic governance and autonomy in the country’s universities and to put an end to the crackdown on students that is taking place through restrictions on their freedom of association and expression and on their right to participate fully and freely in academic life; expresses its concern regarding the case of Bilgi University –abruptly closed down by presidential decree on 22 May 2026 and reopened three days later following significant public backlash and widespread protests from students and academics – as yet another example of threats to academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and state intervention in higher education;

Change 8

Changed22.23. Condemns reported cases of transnational repression targeting Turkish nationals abroad, including intimidation, forced returns and misuse of international cooperation mechanisms; condemns Türkiye’s past activities that have undermined European social cohesion, security and democratic processes, including interference in Member States’ internal affairs through diaspora communities;communities and the use of its state agency Anadolu as an organ of propaganda; remains worried that the racist extremist movement Ülkü Ocakları, also known as the Grey Wolves, which is closely linked to the ruling coalition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is spreading not only in TurkeyTürkiye but also in EU Member States; calls for the EU and its Member States to examine the possibility of banning their associations in EU countries; condemns the Turkish authorities’ policy of political, financial, media and logistical support for Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated movements;movements, networks, associations, charities and educational bodies operating within the territory of several EU Member States as well as the EU’s neighbourhood, which enables them to carry out activities involving ideological influence, funding and recruitment; calls on Türkiye to end all forms of support for these organisations;