Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke out on Europe’s defence efforts amid speculation about what Donald Trump’s election as US president could mean for the future unity of NATO.
Turkey’s full inclusion in the European Union’s defence efforts is indispensable for Europe’s peace and security.
While analysts pondered whether Trump might go so far as to pull the US out of NATO, Erdoğan emphasised that Turkey, possessing the largest armed land forces in NATO, played an important role in the EU’s security system alongside US forces.
Erdoğan was speaking at the fifth summit of the European Political Community in Budapest. With his statements, he probably wanted to achieve a more favourable reaction from European capitals to the proposal to unfreeze Turkey’s EU membership bid.
There is no reasonable explanation for the blocking of the accession process of a candidate country like Turkey, which has made significant contributions to the prosperity and security of the continent for years.
At the end of October, the European Commission acknowledged that Turkey’s EU accession talks had stalled. The Commission stated that “dialogue on rule of law and fundamental rights remains an integral part of the EU-Turkey relationship.”
Following the April 2024 strategic guidance of the European Council, relations with Türkiye were marked by a gradual re-engagement, and concrete steps were taken towards constructive exchanges on issues of joint interest.
Speaking at the summit, Erdoğan also stressed that “the negative effects of the war in Ukraine are deepening day by day.”
The prolongation of the war leaves less and less room for diplomacy.
