ANKARA—The Turkish cabinet was on Monday expected to consider imposing sanctions on the Netherlands in a deepening row with its NATO ally over a ban on its ministers speaking at political events in Rotterdam, and one minister said punitive measures were likely.
President Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking support from Turks in a referendum on boosting his powers, has accused the Dutch government of acting like “Nazi remnants” and said it should face sanctions for barring his ministers from addressing expatriate Turks to drum up votes.
The row marks another low point in relations between Turkey and Europe, further dimming Ankara’s prospects of joining the bloc. It also comes as Turkey is caught up by security concerns over militant attacks and the war in neighboring Syria.
A source close to the government told Reuters that sanctions were expected to be discussed when ministers meet at 7 pm. Ankara’s minister for EU Affairs, Omer Celik, said sanctions were likely.
“We will surely have sanctions against the latest actions by the Netherlands. We will answer them with these,” Celik said.
Apart from any economic measures, a source in Ankara said sanctions could affect cultural activities, and military and technological cooperation. State media later quoted Celik as saying Turkey should reconsider part of its deal to keep migrants out of the EU, comments likely to further anger Brussels.
Turkey summoned the Dutch charge d'affaires on Monday to complain about the ban—imposed due to fears of unrest and distaste at what the Netherlands sees as an increasingly authoritarian tone from Erdogan—and the actions of Rotterdam police against Turkish protesters over the weekend, foreign ministry sources said.
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