Eurabia

The Dutch government said on March 9 it would not welcome the Turkish foreign minister to the Netherlands if he was coming to solicit the votes of local Turks in a constitutional referendum that would shift the parliamentary system to an executive presidency.

Turkey will not succumb to "fascists and racists" like Dutch nationalist politician Geert Wilders, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on March 9.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke on the phone to his Dutch counterpart Bert Koenders on March 8 ahead of his planned visit to the Netherlands in a bid to address Turks living there on constitutional change referendum campaigns in Turkey. 

With the specter of populism looming over a critical election year in Europe, the European Parliament has taken an unusual step to crack down on racism and hate speech in its own house.