Following the brutal attacks on Dutch-Turks and journalists and the banning of a Turkish minister by the Netherlands, the European Union and NATO have refrained from criticizing their member state and called for dialogue to overcome the tension.

In a joint statement by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, the EU said "it is essential to avoid further escalation and find ways to calm down the situation." NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also urged Turkey and its NATO allies to "show mutual respect, to be calm and have a measured approach to contribute to de-escalate the tensions."

Following the EU's statement, Daily Sabah asked the European Commission (EC): "You have just mentioned that holding rallies are an issue for the member states themselves. If you look at the "no" camp for the Turkish referendum, they are freely holding campaigns in different European countries. Supporters of terrorist groups, such as the PKK, are also holding 'no' campaigns across Europe. There are even cases where Dutch politicians have also attended their meetings, but for the 'yes' camp we see the opposite in countries like Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. How would you evaluate this?" EC chief spokesperson Margaritis Schinas replied by saying that the bloc is calling on the two sides to engage in dialogue and that it is willing to extend help on this. Schinas did not comment on EU member states' perceived double standards.

"I was in Rotterdam the other day to cover the events. I myself, and some other Turkish journalists were physically attacked. A peaceful crowd was also attacked by Dutch police, who were using batons, dogs, water cannons and horse charges. Many were hospitalized and detained. My question is straight forward, do you approve of the Netherlandstarget="_blank"'>