Erdogan admitted that Türkiye and the European Union may take different paths
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Ankara can “go different ways” with the European Union, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. He announced this at a press conference in Istanbul against the background of the previously published European Parliament report on the situation with the European integration processes of the republic.
“The European Union seeks to sever relations with Turkey. If the EU takes appropriate steps, we will make our assessment of these events, and after that we can go with the EU in different ways, if necessary,” said he (quote from TASS).
According to the agency, the report said that Ankara and Brussels should find alternative ways of cooperation to Turkey joining the bloc. According to MEPs, the country remains a candidate for EU membership, but the process “cannot resume unless the Turkish government changes course.” On September 14, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called the EP report “a collection of unfounded accusations and prejudices that are based on disinformation from anti-Turkish circles.”
Turkey signed an association agreement with the European Economic Community (the predecessor of the European Union) back in 1963, and in 1987 it applied for EU membership. However, negotiations on the country’s accession to the European bloc began only in 2005, and were repeatedly suspended due to disagreements.
In May 2019, the European Commission published a report in which it admitted that negotiations with Turkey had reached a dead end. Ankara is increasingly moving away from the values of the EU, which prioritizes the rule of law and respect for human rights, the document said. However, Erdogan then stated about the country’s commitment to joining the European Union.
In July of this year, the Turkish leader said that the country needs to open the path to the EU, and in return Ankara will unblock Sweden’s path to NATO. Then he addressed the countries that “have been slowing us down on our way to the EU for 50 years.” The United States subsequently called on Turkey to distinguish this process from Sweden’s entry into the alliance.
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