Fidan urges EU to decide on Türkiye's membership bid

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called on the European Union to make a strategic decision regarding Türkiye’s longstanding membership process.

"There is no change in our demand for European Union membership, but the issue of whether we will be made an EU member or not is not a technical issue... This is an issue that the EU, that is, the core countries, will decide strategically," Fidan told a group of MPs at a parliamentary meeting on Nov. 20.

Fidan revealed that he has been engaged in one-on-one discussions with key officials, notably EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell and EU Council head Charles Michel.

"They have to decide: Do they want to establish a new union with a Muslim country on the scale of Türkiye?" he questioned, highlighting the need for a supra-civilizational structure in the EU.

The foreign minister acknowledged the challenges arising from EU and U.S. geostrategic policies, which "occasionally put them at odds with Türkiye."

Türkiye's top diplomat argued that certain issues are "being utilized as tools by major European states," pointing out that even some cases are becoming "politicized" with demonstrations and protests in European capitals before reaching the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Fidan expressed concern that cases moving from legal and technical realms to becoming part of domestic politics in Türkiye could further complicate matters.

"When you politicize it, you become a part of the internal political competition in Türkiye," Fidan cautioned, urging a careful consideration of the consequences of such a shift.

The country's accession process, which has been largely stalled since 2016, was thrust back into the spotlight after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made the recommencement of the country's membership talks a prerequisite for ratifying Sweden's NATO bid.

The formal negotiations started between Türkiye and the EU for the former’s joining of the 27-member club in 2005, but the process has de facto been suspended by Brussels due to the country’s inability to fulfill the required membership criteria. Türkiye has long said it is a political decision and calls on the EU to adopt a more adequate and honest approach towards Ankara.