EU Report Slams Authoritarian Rule in Turkey, Urges Sanctions Against Justice Minister

An EU report has leveled the most scathing criticism of Turkey’s government in recent memory, recommending sanctions against a number of Turkish officials.

They include Turkish Minister of Justice Akin Gurlek, who is accused of violating human rights and freedoms. The nonbinding report, authored by the EU Parliament’s special rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor, criticized Ankara’s alarming levels of democratic backsliding and its threat to the sovereignty of EU member states Greece and Cyprus.

Gurlek in the Spotlight

The report identifies Gurlek as a key figure “in the state’s repressive machinery” and as a person who “throughout his career … has always been a political actor following a political agenda.”

Prior to his rise to the cabinet, Gurlek served as the chief prosecutor for Istanbul province. In that capacity, he brought spurious charges against Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate, resulting in Imamoglu being jailed ahead of the next election. Gurlek’s office also targeted other CHP officials, leading to their removal from elected positions and subsequent prosecution. More recently, a Turkish court issued a ruling that removed the democratically elected leader of the CHP, Ozgur Ozel. While Gurlek defended the court’s decision, critics condemned it as an attempt to incapacitate the only viable political opposition capable of challenging Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the ballot box.

EU Recommends Broader Sanctions Against Turkish Officials

Amor’s report details further acts of undemocratic governance by the Erdogan regime, including the curtailment of press freedoms, judicial independence, and democratic standards. These have paved the way for Turkey to become a “fully authoritarian state.”

The report urges Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, to implement measures under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions framework against Turkish officials who violate human rights and fundamental freedoms. It also chastises Turkey for continuing to pursue the “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which violates the sovereign maritime borders of Greece and Cyprus, increasing the likelihood of armed conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Blue Homeland represents a maximalist interpretation of Turkey’s maritime borders, running afoul of internationally recognized borders in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.

Europe More Willing To Criticize Erdogan

On June 17, the EU Parliament voted to adopt the report by 381 votes to 107, with 171 abstentions, representing the first major official EU criticism of Erdogan since 2024.

European leaders are wary of criticizing Erdogan directly, fearing it would draw his ire. Moreover, the European Union relies on Erdogan’s cooperation in two notable areas. During the Syrian civil war, the European Union concluded several agreements with Turkey, resulting in Ankara implementing robust measures to keep potential refugee and migrant flows out of the European Union –– a policy goal that the bloc wishes to preserve. Additionally, the European Union perceives Turkey as an emerging security partner that will help protect Europe’s borders from Russian military threats.

European officials fear that criticizing Turkey’s democratic backsliding could jeopardize the cooperation they receive from Erdogan. Amor’s report also directly criticizes other EU institutions and member states for their limited criticism of Erdogan’s regime, arguing that a country seeking to join the bloc should adhere to the European Union’s democratic values.

The Trump administration should follow the European Union’s lead and augment European measures instead of praising Erdogan for being a “tough guy.”

Turkey will host NATO’s annual summit of heads of state in July. Washington should use the NATO summit as an occasion to impress upon Erdogan that threats against its European allies, Greece and Cyprus, are unacceptable.

Turkey remains hopeful that the United States will ease existing sanctions and restrictions on its ability to acquire sensitive defense articles, including the F-35 stealth jet and engines for its domestically produced fifth-generation fighter plane, the “Kaan.” The Trump administration must therefore maintain all existing restrictions until Ankara makes tangible improvements to its democratic governance practices.

Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Sinan and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Sinan on X @SinanCiddi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.