Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again stated the need to accept his country in the European Union. In his opinion, Europe has now found itself in a "deaf corner", and only Turkey is able to remove it from this crisis. The Turkish leader said this on February 25 after the Cabinet of Ministers.
According to the Turkish President, liberal democracy in Europe has lost its former power, which led to the political decline of the EU. As one of the evidence of this, he gave the growth of anti -immigrant and Islamophobic far -right movements, which was demonstrated in the last elections in European countries.
"Only Turkey's full membership can save the European Union from the hopelessness in which it is located - from economy to defense, from politics to international reputation," Erdogan said.
Among the main causes of the current crisis, he also called "the inability of European centrist policy to understand the time correctly . According to him, the West faces a vacuum in its policy, which is gradually filling in far -right movements.
“Politics, like life, does not perceive vacuum. This is the situation today in the West. As can be seen from the recent elections, the far -right demagogues fill the vacuum in European democracies, ” the Turkish President emphasized.
Turkey has been negotiating for EU accession for over 20 years, but the process has been repeatedly inhibited because of the contradictions between Brussels and Ankara. The main causes of delay were:
- Issues of democracy and human rights in Turkey,
- tensions in relations with Greece and Cyprus,
- The EU conflict against refugees,
- The rigid internal course of Erdogan, which is concerned about European leaders.
Despite these differences, Turkey remains a key partner in Europe in the field of security, migration policy and economics.
Against the backdrop of Erdogan's new statements, the President of the European Commission Ursula von Der Lyen noted that Ukraine, if continuing reforms, may become an EU member by 2030.
