Turkey's President says EU accession no longer a priority — The Debate
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tells Al Jazeera Arabic that joining the European Union is no longer a priority for Ankara, but the door remains open.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Al Jazeera Arabic that Turkey no longer sees joining the European Union as a priority, though he left the door open for future talks. The interview aired on 16 August.
"The European Union is not a priority for us," he said.
Erdoğan added that Europe would be the one to lose if it continued to reject Turkey.
He argued that the bloc has shown little willingness to admit Turkey, noting a 53‑year period without progress. The stance comes as the EU wrestles with its own enlargement fatigue, a factor influencing trade talks and security cooperation across the continent.
Turkey signed the Ankara Agreement in 1963, creating a legal framework for closer economic ties with the then European Economic Community, and applied for full membership on 14 April 1987.
"We are still considering joining the European Union. If they accept us, all the better; if they don't, that's fine too," he said.
He reiterated that Brussels would lose more than Ankara if talks stall.
The comments were made on the day the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) marked its 25th anniversary.
Turkey has been an official EU candidate since 1999. Accession negotiations opened in October 2005 but have been effectively frozen for years amid concerns over democratic backsliding, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
Of the 35 negotiating chapters, 16 have been opened and one provisionally closed, according to the Council of the European Union. The last intergovernmental conference took place on 30 June 2016.
The General Affairs Council declared in June 2018 that the talks had reached a standstill, with no further chapters to be opened or closed and no work foreseen on modernising the EU‑Turkey Customs Union.
Successive European Commission reports have highlighted restrictions on freedom of expression, judicial independence and the treatment of opposition figures. Its 2025 enlargement report placed Turkey at an early stage on the judiciary and fundamental rights chapter.
In the same interview Erdoğan discussed the recent defence pact signed with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, describing it as a message of peace and likening it to NATO's Article 5 collective defence clause. He hinted that Egypt could join the arrangement in the future.
He also said he expects the United States to honour a promise regarding Turkey's return to the F‑35 fighter‑jet programme, after the country was removed from the project in 2019 following its purchase of the Russian S‑400 system.
Relations with the EU remain strained. Ankara has pressed for access to the EU's €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan instrument, from which Turkish firms are currently excluded. Thomas Regnier of the European Commission said third‑country participation is capped at 35 percent and any increase would require a bilateral agreement that Brussels has not concluded with Ankara; Greece has indicated it would block such a step.
European officials continue to criticise Ankara's handling of the opposition, including the trial of suspended Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The case has been described by the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as politically motivated.
Erdoğan's remarks mark a shift from earlier calls for the EU to revive accession talks. In June he told delegates from all 32 NATO member states that Turkey wants to take part in every defence and security initiative on the continent.
Despite the diplomatic friction, Turkey remains in the EU‑Turkey Customs Union, which has been in force since 1996, and continues to cooperate with Brussels on migration, energy and security matters. The EU is Turkey's main trading partner, accounting for about 4 percent of its trade in goods in 2025, and the country participates fully in the Erasmus+ programme, allowing students and staff to study, train or intern in EU countries under the same conditions as citizens of member states.