A large majority of European parliamentarians on Wednesday voted for Turkey’s entry into the European Union, setting the scene for the bloc’s expected decision on December 16 and 17 to fix a date for opening entry talks with Ankara.
A total of 407 EU lawmakers voted in favour of Turkey’s membership of the union, with 262 voting against accession. The EU assembly counts 732 members, but not all deputies participated in the ballot.
Members of the Parliament’s conservative European People’s Party were split on the issue. However, socialist deputies, representing the second-largest group in the assembly, voted in favour of opening talks with Turkey, as did most members of the Liberal Democrat and green groups.
The Parliament’s vote is not binding on EU governments, but given that the assembly is the bloc’s only democratically elected body, the ballot sends a strong signal of support for Ankara ahead of the EU summit. — Sapa-DPA
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