By Tuvan Gumrukcu
EDIRNE, Turkey, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Turkey is moving further away from its objective of joining the European Union because of its recent efforts to crack down on the LGBTQ+ community and limit media freedoms, the EU commissioner for enlargement said on Friday.
Turkey has been an official candidate to join the EU since 1999, but its accession has long been frozen over issues ranging from its human rights record to democratic backsliding.
Last week, a Turkish court ordered access to independent news outlet T24's website and social media accounts blocked after authorities said it had published 118 pieces of content over the past year deemed to constitute "LGBT propaganda".
The decision was taken as part of the "My Family is Safe" investigation, a widening crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ groups which the government says aims to protect children and family values, but which has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and the EU.
Speaking to reporters in the northwestern province of Edirne where she attended the opening of an EU-funded railway project, Commissioner Marta Kos said the bloc had a strong interest in developing a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey in light of "new realities" in Europe, but that concerns over democratic standards remained.
"The latest developments affecting media freedom, the rights of the LGBTQI+ people and local democracy are widening the gap with Turkey's objective of joining the EU," Kos said.
The EU's annual enlargement report, due on October 28, will reflect "our serious concerns in these areas", Kos said, adding that she would "not shy away from stating the facts publicly and clearly".
There was no immediate Turkish government reaction to Kos' remarks.
NEED FOR EU-TURKEY COOPERATION HAS GROWN, KOS SAYS
Despite the lack of progress on its membership aspirations, Turkey has been looking to increase cooperation with the EU. It has repeatedly called for the updating of its customs union with the bloc, and has asked to join various EU programmes.
These include the Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, which helps member states to make defence investments, the Single Euro Payments Area initiative, or SEPA, which facilitates cashless euro bank transfers, and its "Made in Europe" rules, which are aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing.
Kos said conflicts in the region, especially the expansion of the Russia-Ukraine war to the Black Sea, showed the importance and necessity of cooperation with Turkey.
"The relevance of Turkey today is significantly higher than it was four or five years back," she said.
Kos said the EU had two tracks of work currently ongoing with Turkey, focused on a "targeted update" of the customs union that would require legislative alignment from Ankara. The other focuses on public procurement, which she said was important for Ankara's aim of joining the "Made in Europe" rules.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler and Gareth Jones)
