Doubts surround Turkey’s efforts to revive its EU membership bid
A Western diplomat says Ankara is unlikely to enact democratic reforms that would ease President Erdogan’s grip on power.
Turkey appears to have rediscovered its European vocation as its ties with the United States go from bad to worse. Ankara is trying to revive its EU membership perspective now, and to this end last week convened its dormant Reform Action Group.
The group, comprising key government ministers, vowed to speed up political, legal and economic reforms required for EU membership.
Already overshadowed by multiple issues, relations between Ankara and Washington have deteriorated further over Turkey’s detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is standing trial for terrorism, a charge that Washington says is baseless.
President Donald Trump has turned this into a personal matter, and is demanding that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intervene and secure Brunson’s immediate and unconditional release.
