17.06.2026 18:20
The European Parliament's report on Turkey, which includes an article calling for sanctions against Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, was adopted with 381 votes. 107 votes were against, and 171 abstentions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the decision, stating, "The Turkish judiciary is not open to intervention by any external actor."
While the European Parliament's scandalous Türkiye report was adopted with 381 votes in favor to 107 against, the report included a call for Justice Minister Akın Gürlek to be placed on the EU sanctions list. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted with the words: "We firmly reject the targeting of our Justice Minister with baseless accusations by distorting legal processes carried out by the independent Turkish judiciary. The Turkish judiciary is not open to interference from any international institution, external actor, or political circle."
HARSH REACTION FROM TÜRKİYE TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S SCANDALOUS REPORT
The European Parliament's (EP) scandalous report on Türkiye was adopted with 381 votes in favor to 107 against in the vote held on Wednesday, June 17. The report called for sanctions to be imposed on Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.
There was a harsh reaction from Türkiye to the report. The statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs included the following expressions: "The 2025 Türkiye Report adopted today (June 17) in the European Parliament (EP) Plenary Session contains assessments based on unfounded claims and misinformation from circles opposed to our country, incompatible with the facts.
"THE REPORT PROVIDES GROUND FOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND ANTI-TÜRKİYE CIRCLES"
It is clear that the report, which appears to have been prepared within the framework of a deliberate political agenda reflecting the ideological biases of some EP members, aims to overshadow the current positive agenda at a time when the strategic importance of Türkiye-EU relations is increasing. This approach, which provides ground for terrorist organizations and anti-Türkiye circles, once again demonstrates how far the EP is from presenting a strategic vision for the future of Türkiye-EU relations.
"WE REJECT THE TARGETING OF THE JUSTICE MINISTER WITH BASELESS ACCUSATIONS"
We firmly reject the targeting of our esteemed Justice Minister with baseless accusations in the report, by distorting the legal processes being conducted by the independent Turkish judiciary.
"THE TURKISH JUDICIARY IS NOT OPEN TO INTERFERENCE"
The Turkish judiciary, which is one of the fundamental pillars of our state's sovereignty, is not open to interference from any international institution, external actor, or political circle. It is not possible to accept initiatives that target judicial processes with political motives and contradict the principle of judicial independence.
Our expectation from the EP is that, in the current environment of increasing global challenges, it adopts an approach that will contribute to advancing relations between the candidate country Türkiye and the EU on a constructive basis, grounded in mutual interests."