Turkey has accused the EU of “strategic blindness,” criticizing the bloc’s decision this week to keep membership talks with Ankara in stalemate as being “detached from reality” and based on “ideological motives.”
The Turkish foreign ministry stated on Friday that the move – taken at the EU’s General Affairs Council meeting on Tuesday – proved once again that Brussels does not see the issue of the bloc’s enlargement through a “strategic point of view.”However, it stated instead that the ministry approaches the issue on the basis narrow interests “membership solidarity.”
In its statement, the ministry said the decision ignored Turkey’s commitment to accession talks importance to regional peace and stability and accused the EU of acting like an “interest group based on bargaining” and “not as a set of principles and values.”
These decisions, which are a new example of how the EU is exploited by some member states’ narrow views and selfish interests, neither contribute to Turkey-EU relations or the general interests of Europe, nor do they bring us any closer to the aim of creating a more positive and constructive agenda.
At the meeting to set the bloc’s agenda for 2022, the General Affairs Council noted that Turkey “continues to move further away”The EU. The council reiterated its support. “serious concerns” over Ankara’s “deeply worrying backsliding”Democracy is based on rule of law and rights.
Learn more
The previous decision, which noted the progress of accession negotiations, was also remained unchanged. “effectively … come to a standstill and no further chapters can be considered for opening or closing.”
The meeting also criticized Turkey’s foreign policy as going against EU priorities and referenced ongoing tensions with Greece over the decades-long Cyprus issue.
Forcing the EU to give up its “strategic blindness,”According to the foreign ministry, Turkey would like to strengthen its links with the bloc by establishing a relationship through the aforementioned. “concrete and positive agenda”Based on membership perspective
While Turkey submitted an official application for candidacy in 1987 to the EU, accession negotiations with Ankara were only initiated by the EU in 2005. These talks were suspended several years ago due to tensions between neighboring countries and policy differences.
[ad_2]
