Erdogan announced that Turkey no longer considers joining the EU a priority.

Erdogan Makes Major Statement: Joining the EU Is No Longer Turkey's Priority, Predicts "Europe Will Be the Loser"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently stated that joining the EU has lost its priority for Ankara. He made this declaration during an interview with Al Jazeera.

Erdogan explained that Brussels has shown no willingness to accept Turkey into the Union. He also warned that if the EU continues down this path, it will ultimately be Europe that ends up on the losing side.

Turkey was granted candidate status by the EU in 1999. Since then, the two sides have repeatedly clashed over numerous issues, and formal accession negotiations were launched in 2005.

In 2024, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Ankara no longer intends to wait for Brussels’ decision and will consider exploring "other historic pathways."

In May 2023, Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People's Party—the largest group in the European Parliament—said both Brussels and Ankara have lost interest in Turkey’s accession and called for ending the negotiations. Following this, Erdogan also openly expressed that he does not expect any action from Brussels and criticized its biased stance toward Turkey. He emphasized that Ankara has fulfilled all its obligations toward the EU, while the EU itself has failed to fulfill a single one of its commitments.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1873644486454275/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.