Reacting to the severe criticism of Turkey for serious backsliding on fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in the latest European Union progress report, EU Affairs Minister Ömer Çelik has called the report far from constructive.
Claiming that the report lacks objectivity, Çelik said the European Union is far from generating a perspective for the future.
In the face of criticism against a massive purge that has affected a wide range of society from journalists to academics in the wake of a coup attempt on July 15, Minister Çelik argued that the measures Turkey has been taking are proportional and compatible with the rule of law.
Targeting the Gülen movement as the alleged perpetrator of the coup in the absence of any evidence, Çelik argued that the Gülen movement is worse than the Nazis and that as the government they they continue to speak about the movement, which he calls “FETÖ,” with European counterparts.