Turkey imposes sanctions on Netherlands as tensions rise

Tensions between Turkey and the Netherlands were strained even further on Tuesday as Ankara imposed diplomatic sanctions over the decision to ban Turkish MPs from addressing rallies on Dutch soil.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also rejected calls from the European Union to use less inflammatory language after he had earlier called the Dutch “nazis” and “facists”.

The Dutch ambassador to Turkey has been barred from returning to the country and all other high-level diplomatic communications have been cut off.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte brushed aside the sanctions as “not too bad”. His popularity has increased during the very public row with Erdogan as voters in the Netherlands head to the polls on Wednesday.

Rutte is fighting a fierce battle with the far right leader Geert Wilders, but opinion polls suggest that his willingness to stand up to Erdogan's rhetoric has improved his standing with voters on both sides of the political divide.

The row centres over the decision to stop Turkish politicians from addressing expatriates in the EU and getting them to vote 'Yes' in a referendum on 16 April on expanding Erdogan's powers.

There are around 5.5m Turkish expatriates, with an estimated 400,000 in the Netherlands.

The Dutch authorities barred two Turkish cabinet ministers from addressing crowds in the city of Rotterdam, with Minister of Family Affairs Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya escorted to the German border after entering the Netherlands by land.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Monday issued a statement calling for Turkey to “end excessive statements”.

They also expressed concerns about the Erdogan's plans to give himself more power, described as “the excessive concentration of powers in one office, with serious effect on the necessary checks and balances and on the independence of the judiciary”.

“ It is also of concern that this process of constitutional change is taking place under the state of emergency,” they added.

“The proposed amendments, if approved at the referendum of 16 April, and especially their practical implementation, will be assessed in light of Turkey's obligations as an EU candidate country and as a member of the Council of Europe.”