Erdogan turns back on EU membership bid
Influential voices in Turkey are worried about the impression that Turkey and the EU are drifting apart and what this will do to Turkey’s political reform process.
Given the current turmoil along Turkey’s eastern borders, many have forgotten that Ankara is still technically vying for EU membership. This bid, however, remains in the doldrums due to a combination of factors involving Turkey and Europe.
At the beginning of the year, hopes were raised that the recent stagnation in Turkish-EU ties could be overcome. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, even said in January 2014 that the coming year would mark a historic turning point in ties.
But, as the year comes to a close, there is little to prove him correct. Recent remarks by Haluk Dincer, head of the influential Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), show that the situation has actually worsened.
Addressing a Nov. 20 conference organized with the Brookings Institution in Istanbul, Dincer said that hopes were fading for Turkey’s EU membership, unless the current state of affairs changed.
