Ankara has kept all its promises, while Brussels has not reciprocated, the Turkish leader claims
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech at the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. © AFP / Adem Altan
Türkiye no longer expects anything from Brussels, having waited for decades to become an EU member, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
“We have kept all the promises we have made to the EU, but they have kept almost none of theirs,” the Turkish leader stated in a speech to parliament, which gathered after a summer recess on Sunday.
Ankara “no longer expects anything from the European Union, which has kept us waiting at its door for 60 years,” he insisted.
Those in Brussels will “correct their mistakes” if they give up on their “unjust” approach to Türkiye, especially when it comes to issuing visas to Turkish nationals, the president said.
“If they don’t, they will completely lose the right to expect anything from us,” he warned.
Türkiye has complained in recent months that an increasing number of its citizens are having their Schengen visa applications rejected, although the EU has denied creating any additional obstacles for Turks. In his speech, Erdogan said the visa denials are “covert sanctions against us” by Brussels.
Türkiye, most of whose territory is located in Asia, has been aspiring to become an EU member for decades. It officially applied for membership in 1987, and was recognized as a candidate in 1999. Accession talks opened in 2005, but were sluggish and ground to a halt in 2016. Brussels has been increasingly critical of Ankara in recent years, accusing Erdogan of attempts to consolidate power in a way that would contradict EU laws.
Earlier this month, the European Parliament approved a report censuring Türkiye for curtailing “fundamental freedoms, human rights and civil liberties, as well as by its actions going against international law and good neighborly relations.”
Erdogan reacted to the paper by warning that Türkiye may decide to “part ways with the EU” due to such treatment.
READ MORE: EU state dubs Turkish membership ‘unimaginable’
