The EU has decided to defer accession talks with Turkey until later this year over Ankara’s violent crackdown

The European Union has decided to defer accession talks with Turkey until later this year over Ankara’s violent crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests.

On Tuesday, EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg supported a German proposal to delay the new round of Turkey’s membership negotiations, which had been scheduled to resume on Wednesday, pending an October report by the European Commission on Turkey’s progress in reforms and human rights.
Negotiations on Turkey’s EU bid, which began in 2005, have been stalled since June 2010, six months after Cyprus blocked talks on six chapters of the bid. Last October, a report by the European Commission also raised concerns about democracy and human rights in Turkey.
Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, among other EU member states, blocked the talks to criticize the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for its handling of the anti-government protests, which began on May 31 after police broke up a sit-in held at Istanbul’s Taksim Square to protest against the proposal to demolish Gezi Park.
The protesters say Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is one of Istanbul’s last green public spaces.
Five people, including a police officer, have reportedly died in the clashes and more than 5,000 protesters and 600 police officers have been wounded.