Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for leaders of the European Union to reinvigorate his country’s stalled EU membership process, telling them there is no “reasonable” explanation for the process to remain deadlocked, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Erdoğan, speaking at the fifth European Political Community summit in Budapest, talked about the importance of Turkey’s EU membership for the peace and safety of Europe in the wake of a wide range of challenges, particularly Russian aggression.
“There is no reasonable explanation for blocking the accession process of a candidate country like Türkiye, which has made significant contributions to the prosperity and security of the continent for years,” Erdoğan said, recalling that Turkey has the second largest army in NATO, following only that of the United States.
The election earlier this week of Republican candidate Donald Trump as the next president of the United States has fueled concerns about the threat Russia poses to Europe and whether the new US administration will leave Europe standing alone in its support of Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia in the country.
Erdoğan also asked for support of Turkey’s EU membership process in personal meetings with EU leaders.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who met with Erdoğan in Budapest on Thursday, wrote on X that it was good to meet with the Turkish president and voiced her hope of strengthening the EU-Turkey partnership.
It was good to meet you at the EPC, @RTErdogan.
A stronger EU-Türkiye partnership will benefit our shared region.
We can champion peace, prosperity and security across borders.
And it will benefit our people.
Let’s work on this closely in the coming years. pic.twitter.com/8v2Laheqic
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 7, 2024
Turkey was granted official EU candidacy status in 1999 and accession negotiations were initiated in 2005, with Turkey working to align its laws and policies to EU standards.
However, progress stalled for several reasons, including concerns over human rights, democratic governance and the unresolved Cyprus dispute. Tensions between Turkey and the EU intensified after a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, with subsequent political crackdowns raising alarm in European capitals. As a result, EU membership talks have effectively been frozen in recent years.
Despite these challenges, Turkey formally remains a candidate for EU membership.
The European Commission released its yearly report on Turkey in late October, acknowledging that there are “serious concerns” about the continued deterioration of democratic standards, the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights in Turkey during the reporting period.
“The overall human rights situation in the country has not improved and remains an issue of concern,” the report said.