Sommer andr Wieland: We are not in favor of halting financial aid to Turkey

Renate Sommer and Rainer Wieland, members of a Christian Democrat bloc in the European Parliament, said they were not working on a draft resolution aimed at cutting financial aid to Turkey, adding that that they have not signed such a resolution, either. Rightist and Christian Democrat members of the parliament attempted to cut the EU’s financial aid to Turkey because of the tear gas used by the police during Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, claiming that the aid granted to Ankara gets to the Turkish people in the form of pepper spray. Sources claimed that Sommer and Wieland were also a part of this proposal. Even though Sommer and Wieland are concerned about the violent response against protesters and criticize the opening of a new chapter with Turkey as it would send a wrong signal to Turkish government, in a joint statement sent to Hurriyet, they said they were not aware of such a resolution and they would not support it, either.