The Turkish diaspora wields considerable power in Europe, Türkiye’s Permanent Delegate to the European Union Faruk Kaymakcı says, emphasizing his belief that they can change their future through voting. With about a week remaining until the European Parliament (EP) elections, Kaymakcı called on the community to exercise their political rights and vote.
"Based on population, the Turkish community can influence the outcome of elections in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. It is important that representatives of the Turkish community execute their right to elect and to be elected, to protect their rights, preserve their integration to their host countries and for a peaceful, prosperous EU," Kaymakcı told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday.
Some 360 million people across 27 countries will be eligible to vote next week in the European elections. Votes for the members of the European Parliament are being cast from June 6-9 across the European Union but vary by country.
The Dutch will kick things off on Thursday, June 6. This will be followed by Ireland on June 7, and then Latvia, Malta and Slovakia the next day. The Czech Republic and Italy vote across two days: June 7-8 and June 8-9 respectively. In the rest of the EU, elections will be held on Sunday, June 9.
A total of 720 members of the European Parliament will be elected from among many thousands of candidates.
This is fewer members than in the last election, partly as Parliament shrank when the United Kingdom left the EU in 2020.
The Turkish diaspora is spread across European countries and in Germany, they make up the largest Turkish community in the continent, where their number is above 3 million.
Kaymakcı said Europe is holding the election in a challenging environment, citing problems in the post-COVID-19 era where the EU could not fully recover. He noted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict proved to be an extra burden for the bloc.
"The EU imposes several sanctions (on Russia) and this affects EU countries, for instance, in terms of rising food and energy prices," he said.
He said the Turkish community would be forced to accept the fact that others would decide upon their future if they abstain from voting. "They should also bear in mind that Türkiye is a candidate country for EU accession," he added.