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At a press conference, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his country’s “strategic goal”: membership in the EU.
Ankara – Turkey wants to continue to become a member of the European Union (EU). This “strategic goal” of his country was confirmed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan“Full membership in the European Union is our strategic goal. It is in our common interest that the EU approaches Turkey with a similar perspective,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis in Ankara.
Türkiye applies for EU membership in 1987
The country has submitted its application for membership in the EU It applied for membership in 1987, then the EC (European Community), and has had candidate status since 1999. Accession negotiations began in 2005. However, due to the situation on the divided island of Cyprus, accession talks have stalled. While Erdogan is pushing for a two-state solution on the island, Greece is pushing for reunification.
Relations between Türkiye and the West have worsened since October 7
And there are further problems between the EU and Turkey. After October 7, 2023, relations between Turkey and the West have deteriorated further. Turkey repeatedly accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Erdogan had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even compared to HitlerIn addition, there have been repeated meetings with high-ranking Hamas officials in Turkey in the past. Turkey is therefore considered a safe haven for the terrorist militia. After more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, the war in the Gaza Strip is not only a threat to regional but also to global security, said Erdogan.
Türkiye ignored ECHR rulings
Turkey’s EU membership will probably continue to be difficult. The country has problems in many areas. When it comes to human rights, Turkey ignores rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which, for example, supports the release of Turkish cultural promoter and human rights activist Osman Kavala. Ankara also ignores the ECHR’s rulings in many other cases. Overall, Turkey’s situation has worsened, especially since the attempted coup in 2016. The assessments of international non-governmental organizations show just how bad the situation is in the country.
- In the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, the country ranks 117th out of 142 countries
- Ranked 149th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index
- ranked 101st out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index
Ongoing economic crisis in Turkey
The country also has massive economic problems. Inflation is at 75 percent and the currency has been losing value for years. The “century of Turkey” promised by Erdogan in the run-up to the Turkish elections in May 2023 is still a long way off. The European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, Nacho Sánchez Amor, warns in an article on X the Türkiye. “No company can fully trust an environment in which the justice system is constantly being questioned.”
Erdogan has Kurdish mayors arrested
But Erdogan seems to want to continue his authoritarian policies. After the local elections on March 31, the Kurdish mayor of Hakkari, Mehmet Siddik Akis (Dem Parti), was replaced by a trustee and then arrested for “terrorist offenses”. A total of 27 other mayors of the pro-Kurdish Dem Parti are threatened with being replaced by a trustee and arrested – also for alleged terrorist offenses. The pro-government journalist Nedim Sener reported this in his column in the newspaper Hurriyet on May 6. In the last legislative period, numerous Kurdish mayors were replaced by trustees and subsequently arrested. (erpe)
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