Sandro Gozi, Secretary General of the European Democratic Party and Member of the European Parliament for Renew Europe, has issued a clear warning on Turkey’s democratic deterioration after the latest court ruling against the Republican People’s Party and the mounting pressure on opposition leaders, universities, journalists and independent institutions. For the EDP, strategic relations with Ankara remain important, but they cannot come at the expense of European values: “Turkey is a NATO partner, an EU candidate country and a member of the Council of Europe. Cooperation, dialogue and security ties matter. But Europe cannot ignore what is happening.”
Gozi places the latest developments within a wider erosion of democratic safeguards and political pluralism. The EDP sees these measures not as separate incidents, but as part of a systematic pressure campaign against democratic life in Turkey: “The latest court ruling against the Republican People’s Party is not an isolated legal episode. Together with the imprisonment and prosecution of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the growing pressure on elected opposition figures, the reported measures affecting Istanbul Bilgi University, and the continuing intimidation of journalists and independent media, it is part of a broader authoritarian pattern: weakening political pluralism, intimidating independent institutions, restricting academic freedom and silencing public scrutiny.”
For the European Democratic Party, this moment requires a firm and coherent European response. As Gozi states, “For the European Democratic Party, President Erdoğan’s assault on democracy must have political consequences.” The EDP’s position is rooted in a centrist and liberal vision of Europe: dialogue must remain open, but the rule of law cannot be treated as optional. “A country that wants to remain on a European path cannot use courts to redesign the opposition, silence elected leaders, interfere with universities, intimidate journalists or overturn the will of voters. Judicial independence cannot be invoked as a shield when the judiciary is used as an instrument of political control.”
The attack on democratic institutions also reaches the spaces where citizens form ideas, knowledge and public debate. For the EDP, academic freedom and press freedom are essential to any European path and to any credible democratic future. Gozi makes this point directly: “Academic freedom and press freedom are not secondary issues. Free universities, independent research, open debate and a pluralistic media landscape are essential pillars of any democracy. When political pressure reaches campuses, newsrooms, lecturers, students and journalists, it is not only freedom of expression that is under attack: it is the democratic future of the country.”
The EDP calls on the European Union, the Council of Europe and democratic partners to match cooperation with clarity. Security ties and strategic dialogue with Turkey matter, but they must not become a reason for silence when elected representatives, independent media and universities are under pressure. “Europe must be clear: strategic cooperation with Turkey cannot mean democratic silence. The European Union, the Council of Europe and all democratic partners must demand the immediate restoration of political pluralism, the protection of elected representatives, respect for academic freedom, guarantees for press freedom and full adherence to the rule of law.”
The European Democratic Party will continue to stand for a Europe that defends democracy without ambiguity and speaks not only to governments, but also to citizens who demand freedom, fairness and genuine choice. As Gozi concludes, “Turkey’s citizens deserve free elections, strong institutions, independent universities, free media and a genuine democratic choice. The EDP stands with all democratic forces in Turkey resisting authoritarian pressure and defending European values.”
