European Parliament debates freeze on Turkey's bid to join EU

Strasbourg, France (dpa) - European lawmakers will Tuesday debate whether to suspend EU membership talks with Turkey, and a vote is expected later this week.EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is expected to take part in the discussion during the second day of parliament‘s plenary session in Strasbourg.The Turkish government purged tens of thousands of civil servants and police after a military faction attempted a coup in in July.The proposal for freezing accession talks with Ankara was drafted after more than 100 journalists and members of parliament from the pro-Kurdish Peoples‘ Democratic Party (HDP) were jailed and a European Commission report said Turkey is backsliding on key issues of rule of law and fundamental rights.The parliamentary vote on the measure, scheduled for Thursday, would not be legally binding but would increase political pressure on the commission. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week he would call a referendum on EU accession if no progress was made by December 31."We will have patience until the end of the year, and then I will go to the people," Erdogan said, according to state news agency Anadolu.