Ekrem İmamoğlu reacts to European Commission President's remarks

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu spoke at the "31st Turkey Working Group Meeting," jointly organized by the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB), Şişli Municipality, and the European Committee of the Regions (COR).

Touching upon the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel's occupation of Gaza, İmamoğlu said, "Our world is experiencing a period of 'multiple crises' where problems such as crises and wars from Ukraine to Gaza, the climate crisis we cannot prevent, irregular migration waves, and increasingly sharp poverty and inequality are becoming constant."

"AUTHORITARIAN APPROACHES ARE STRENGTHENING"

Stating that "We wake up to a new conflict and instability every day," İmamoğlu said:

"While we say a ceasefire has been reached in Lebanon, conflicts have now restarted in Syria. Under these conditions, unfortunately, traditional political institutions cannot respond to new needs. As political regimes in many countries, including Turkey, are changing their shells, authoritarian approaches that threaten universal democratic values are strengthening. The authoritarian and populist wave rising by exploiting the dissatisfaction and anger of the people is far from finding a remedy for these multiple crises. On the contrary; this political wave is ossifying the lack of solutions by fueling anger with divisive policies, creating new enemies, or targeting vulnerable groups. Populist authoritarian leaders threaten not only the democratic institutions in their own countries but also world peace and stability. The solution lies in a pluralistic approach based on cooperation, in which all stakeholders are included."

REACTION TO AKP'S TRUSTEE POLICY

Criticizing the AKP government's trustee policy, İmamoğlu said, "Since the March 2024 local elections, which redrew Turkey's political map and made the main opposition party CHP the leading party, eight mayors have been removed from office and trustees have been appointed in their place. Among these mayors, all of whom are from the opposition, are Professor Ahmet Özer, the mayor of Esenyurt, Turkey's largest district municipality, and Ahmet Türk, the mayor of the ancient city of Mardin, an experienced and peace-loving politician."

İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"With these practices that are contrary to democracy and law, the will of the people is trampled upon; local democracy is violated, and worst of all, the public's faith in democracy and the power of representation are severely damaged. What understanding of law and democracy allows for an elected mayor to be removed from office and replaced by a governor or another official affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, even before there is a finalized judicial decision against them? Yet, national administrations, instead of tripping up local administrations, should foster national development, good governance, and democratic participation from the local level by cooperating with them."

CRITICISM OF URSULA VON DER LEYEN

Discussing Turkey-European Union relations, İmamoğlu said, "In this world of multiple crises, the need for cooperation between Turkey and the European Union is more urgent than ever; however, relations are perhaps at the lowest level in their history. Turkey-EU relations, which have been regressing step by step for the last 20 years, have ceased to be a strategic partnership and have become locked into a 'give-and-take' approach filled with tensions and reduced to the issue of irregular migration and refugees."

Criticizing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, İmamoğlu continued:

"When the EU's enlargement policies are discussed, while many countries in the Western Balkans are mentioned, Turkey's name is not even uttered as a candidate country. It is a great misfortune that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did not mention Turkey's name while speaking about enlargement in the speech she gave last week on the first working day of the new commission. The political dialogue of over 60 years and the 20-year candidacy process are literally in the deep freeze. Let alone membership negotiations and visa liberalization, even taking steps regarding the modernization of the Customs Union, which concerns our common interests, is not possible due to political reasons."

4 FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES

Stating, "I believe there are four fundamental issues that have dealt a blow to the faith in the EU of the Turkish people, 80 percent of whom supported EU membership just 20 years ago," İmamoğlu explained:

"The first of these is the visa issue, which causes our citizens to suffer in front of EU consulates. Among those who suffer from the inability to solve this problem are our successful young people who cannot go to their schools in EU countries even though they have been accepted. These young people, who have the power to build a bridge between Europe and Turkey, should not hit a visa wall. The second issue is Cyprus. The Turkish public finds it unfair that the Southern Cyprus Greek Administration, which pushed aside the UN-based peace plans with the back of its hand while the Turkish Cypriots said 'yes' to them, was accepted into the EU as the sole representative of Cyprus. We do not find it fair that the diplomatic isolation of Turkish Cypriots continues and that Southern Cyprus puts a mortgage not only on the island's north but also on relations with Turkey."

REACTION ON PALESTINE AND REFUGEES

Criticizing the European Union on the issue of Palestine, İmamoğlu said, "Another issue that saddens the Turkish public is the EU's silence on the Palestinian issue. If we believe in peace and human rights, shouldn't we criticize and condemn more loudly and clearly the massacre of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, including women and children, before the eyes of the whole world?"

Stating that "The fourth issue is the issue of migration and refugees," İmamoğlu noted:

"It is neither sustainable nor fair for Turkey, which is among the countries hosting the most refugees in the world, to continue to carry this heavy burden alone. We are hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrians in Istanbul alone, whose exact numbers we do not know, and we are making intense efforts to meet their needs. The migration crisis, which we expect to increase further with the sharpening of climate crises and global poverty, is too large and important to be solved with short-term 'give-and-take policies' or to be loaded onto the backs of a few countries. Comprehensive international cooperation and solidarity are essential on this issue."

News Source: 12punto