Europe — 2026-06-25

EU Parliament Votes to Slam Turkey Authoritarian Backsliding and Urges Sanctions on Justice Minister

BLUFFormal EU sanctions on Gürlek within 90 days are very unlikely, as the nonbinding resolution lacks the Council consensus needed to override Turkey's migration and NATO leverage.

On June 17, the European Parliament voted 381 to 107, with 171 abstentions, to adopt a resolution urging EU High Representative Kaja Kallas to impose sanctions on Justice Minister Akın Gürlek under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, including asset freezes 12. The resolution names Gürlek "a key actor in the state's repressive machinery," citing his tenure as Istanbul chief public prosecutor, during which his office prepared the nearly 4,000-page indictment against Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who faces charges carrying up to 2,430 years in prison 12. It also cites Turkey's "Blue Homeland" maritime doctrine as threatening Greek and Cypriot sovereignty and notes that 28 opposition mayors have been replaced by government-appointed trustees 12. Gürlek rejected the measures on June 13 as politically motivated interference in Turkey's sovereign judicial proceedings 2.

Analysis
Formal sanctions on Gürlek within 90 days are very unlikely. The EP resolution is nonbinding, and enforcement requires Kallas to propose measures that Council must adopt unanimously against a Turkey holding documented leverage as migration gatekeeper and NATO partner. Hungary alone can veto. The 171 abstentions signal a political consensus narrower than the 381-107 headline implies, limiting the momentum Kallas would need to advance a proposal. High confidence rests on the absence of precedent for Brussels imposing individual sanctions on a Turkish official within any comparable window. The 381-107 margin is nonetheless the sharpest EP rebuke of Ankara since 2024, and material advancement of the İmamoğlu prosecution before July's NATO summit could generate member-state pressure exceeding the structural baseline. If that pressure fails to materialize, Erdoğan reads the vote as enforceable-cost-free, and the judicial campaign against domestic opposition continues without external check.

4 sources

EU Report Slams Authoritarian Rule in Turkey, Urges Sanctions Against Justice Minister - Foundation for Defense of Democracies
European Parliament adopts resolution seeking sanctions on Turkey's justice minister - Bianet
EP Resolutions on Türkiye - European Parliament
Turkey lashes out at European Parliament report urging EU sanctions on justice minister - The Washington Post