Does Turkey Want to Open a Fresh Chapter With The EU? Published May 10th, 2021 - 07:13 GMT
Turkey s Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/Adem Altan)
Highlights
Erosion of liberties, disputes with Cyprus and Greece mean membership still some way off
Since the approval of its candidacy to EU membership in 1999, Turkish relations with Brussels have been strained, exacerbated by Turkey’s controversial moves in the eastern Mediterranean and concerns over its ongoing democratic issues.
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Now, though, Turkey wants to begin a new era with the EU, despite recent diplomatic gaffes, such as the Sofagate crisis, when Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, was not given a seat next to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during her high-profile visit to Ankara.
The EU May Not Want Turkey in Europe! albawaba.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from albawaba.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Apr 23 2021 10:05 Gmt+3
Last Updated On: Apr 23 2021 10:08 Gmt+3
Turkey’s relations with the European Union are at an historical low point, Romanian Christian Democrat MEP Vlad Nistor said, EUToday reported on Thursday.
The European People s Party (EPP) Group (Christian Democrats), of which Nistor’s party is a member, has submitted a report to the European Parliament s Foreign Affairs Committee on relations between the EU and Turkey, EUToday said.
Rebuilding ties between Turkey and the bloc “will require restoring trust and reassessing the framework of relations,” said Nistor, who is the negotiator of the report for the group.
Turkey’s EU accession negotiations are in serious danger “as long as Turkey refuses to carry out reforms, undermines the principles of the rule of law and fundamental rights and violates the territorial integrity of Greece and Cyprus, two EU member states,” he said.
Friday, 23 April, 2021 - 17:00
After years of stalemate on Turkey s bid to join the world s biggest trading bloc, negotiations launched in 2005 have come to a halt. (Reuters) Asharq Al-Awsat
Turkey s membership negotiations to join the European Union should be formally suspended if Ankara continues on its autocratic track, EU lawmakers said on Friday, saying a decision was urgent as basic freedoms in the country are curtailed.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament s Foreign Affairs Committee voted 49 in favor, four against and with 14 abstentions on their report on Turkey s EU candidacy, which now goes to the full plenary next month and, if accepted, becomes the parliament s official position.