President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday called on the European Union to open the door for Türkiye’s accession into the bloc in order for Ankara to back Sweden’s membership in NATO. Erdoğan was speaking at the airport before departing for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“First, let’s pave the way for Türkiye in the European Union, and then we will pave the way for Sweden just as we did for Finland,” the president said. The president’s remarks were welcomed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. At a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania ahead of the summit, the NATO chief said he supported Türkiye’s ambition to join EU.
Türkiye has the longest history with the union and the longest negotiation process. The country signed an association agreement with the EU’s predecessor in 1964, the European Economic Community (EEC), which is usually regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Türkiye had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. For the start of the negotiations, however, Türkiye had to wait for another six years, until 2005, a uniquely long process compared with other candidates.
“Türkiye was kept waiting at the door of European Union for more than fifty years while almost all NATO members are EU members,” Erdoğan lamented.
