Turkey's EU Membership No Longer a Priority, Says Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that the country's membership in the European Union is no longer a priority for Ankara. He made this statement in an interview with Al Jazeera, as reported by Reuters.

Erdogan noted that Brussels is not showing willingness to accept Turkey into the EU. He remarked that as a result of this stance, the 'losing side' will ultimately be Europe.

Turkey was granted candidate status for EU membership in 1999, and formal accession negotiations began in 2005. In subsequent years, disagreements arose between the two sides on various issues.

In 2024, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Ankara does not intend to wait for a decision from Brussels and will consider other 'historic paths.'

In May 2023, Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People's Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament, declared that neither Brussels nor Ankara are interested in Turkey's accession to the EU and called for the negotiations to be halted.

Later, Erdogan indicated that he does not expect any moves from Brussels, accusing the EU of biased treatment towards Turkey. According to him, Ankara has fulfilled all its obligations to the EU, while the EU has not met its own commitments.