The European Commission president says Ankara has made “no progress” in joining the bloc
Today’s Turkey is further from the EU than it was decades ago when it applied to join the bloc, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Spanish news website elDiario.es asked von der Leyen on Monday about Ankara’s prospects of finally joining the European bloc.
She answered: “There is no progress and this is enough. So it’s in Turkey’s hands to change something about it.”
“The accession process is flexible to the extent that it very much depends on the development in the applicant country,” von der Leyen said.
Most striking are Turkey and Slovakia. Both countries have the European perspective. [on accession]Slovakia joined the European Union in 1999. With great national unity, they did all that was necessary to move forward. Today, Turkey is even further away from the European Union.
Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987. It was then declared eligible to become a member in 1999. But the talks stalled in the early 2000s, initially because of Turkey’s refusal to recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member.
In 2019, the European Parliament voted to suspend accession talks, citing concerns over Turkey’s human rights record.
Over the years, Turkish officials repeatedly reiterated that Ankara is determined to become a member of the EU. “We appreciate the efforts to get Ukraine EU membership. But I ask the EU members: Why does Turkey’s membership in the EU worry you?”In March, President Recep Tayyip Erdan said. He asked Brussels for the financial support of Turkey. “same sensitivity”It was shown in Kiev.
Turkey said recently that it will block Sweden from NATO membership. This is a US-led military bloc. It accused the Nordic countries of aiding Kurdish rebel groups.
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