Turkey Still Wants to Join EU – Foreign Minister

BLED (Slovenia) (Sputnik) – Turkey still seeks to join the European Union despite ongoing deterioration of relations between Ankara and Brussels, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday.

"We want to become a member of the European Union, this is still our strategy, our choice," Cavusoglu said at a forum.

Responding to the ongoing accusations of human rights violations, the foreign minister noted that France introduced a state of emergency after the terror attacks in Paris, which was prolonged several times. He pointed out that the same kind of actions in Turkey were regarded by EU countries as unacceptable.

Turkish-EU relations have significantly deteriorated after the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey as, from the EU's point of view, Ankara continues to violate human rights while persecuting those who are believed to have links with the coup plotters. Brussels additionally criticized the April referendum that granted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with more powers.

Turkey signed an association agreement with the then-European Community in 1963, submitting a membership application in 1987. In 1997, Turkey was declared eligible to join the European Union. Among the EU members, Turkey has the most strained relations with Austria and Germany. Vienna has repeatedly urged Ankara to put an end to the accession bid, whereas Berlin insists on a review of EU economic policy with regard to Turkey. The European Parliament voted to suspend Turkey's accession talks in early July.