Negotiations on Turkey's membership in the European Union should be officially suspended if Ankara continues on its autocratic path, MEPs said, noting that this is an urgent decision, since fundamental freedoms in the country are limited, Reuters reported.

The European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs has adopted a report on Turkey's candidacy for the EU, which will now be presented at a plenary meeting in May. If adopted, it will become the official position of parliament.

EU governments say President Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on dissidents and his increasingly autocratic rule with broad presidential powers, devoid of checks and balances, is pulling the country away from the EU.