Türkiye may 'break up' with EU

Speaking ahead of his visit to the US, President Tayyip Erdogan said the EU was taking steps to distance itself from Türkiye. He stressed: "We will assess these developments and if necessary, we can separate from the EU."

Earlier, the Ankara government criticized the European Parliament's report on Türkiye. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the document was "full of unfair and biased accusations based on false information from anti-Turkish forces".

The Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said the report was adopted at a crucial time in ensuring the stability and security of the continent and "when the window of opportunity has opened to restore relations between Turkey and the EU, the European Parliament has put forward a different agenda instead of negotiating on the relevant issues (Türkiye's accession to the EU)".

The Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed that Turkey has the potential to make the EU a global player in the face of all the challenges it faces, mainly in the areas of security, energy, climate change and the economy. To realise these realities, a forward-looking approach is needed, free from the narrow interests of certain groups.

The European Parliament’s (EP) annual report on EU-Türkiye relations, adopted by 434 votes in favour, 18 against and 152 abstentions, stated that “unless the Turkish Government radically changes course, Turkey’s EU accession process cannot continue in the current circumstances.” The EP also called on the EU to seek a more realistic framework for its relationship with Türkiye.

Türkiye applied to join the EU in 1987 and was recognized as a candidate 12 years later. Although membership negotiations began in 2005, progress has been slow and the process has been frozen since 2016./.