Turkish MPs approve extension of state of emergency for 3 months

The Turkish parliament approved on Wednesday the extension for another three months of the state of emergency, Reuters reported. It was declared after a failed military coup in July 2016. The move means Turkey will hold early June 24 parliamentary and presidential elections, announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier on Wednesday, under the state of emergency. The European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress towards EU membership, published on Tuesday, blamed Ankara for a broad and disproportionate crackdown after a failed 2016 coup attempt. The report also called for Turkey to lift a state of emergency that allows the president and the government to bypass parliament in passing new laws and to suspend rights and freedoms.