Erdogan says Turkey may part with EU, implying Ankara could end membership bid

Turkish president accuses bloc of trying to ‘sever ties,’ after European Parliament says accession process cannot take place ‘under current circumstances’

By AP 17 September 2023, 1:20 am

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Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a press conference at the end of the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, September 10, 2023. (AP/Dar Yasin)

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey may part ways with the European Union, implying that the country is thinking about ending its bid to join the 27-nation bloc.

“The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkey,” he told reporters before departing for the 78th UN General Assembly in New York.

“We will evaluate the situation, and if needed we will part ways with the EU,” Erdogan said.

He was responding to a question about a recent report adopted by the European Parliament, which stated “the accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, and calls on EU to explore ‘a parallel and realistic framework’ for EU-Türkiye relations.”

Turkey applied to join the European Union in 1999, and accession talks began in 2005. Accession negotiations were frozen in 2018 because of “democratic backsliding” in Turkey, according to the European Parliament.

Erdogan’s statement on Saturday came more than a week after Turkey’s foreign minister affirmed his country’s resolve to join the EU and urged the bloc to take courageous steps to advance its bid.