Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs chief calls EU to revive ties
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Fuat Oktay, head of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, met representatives of Turkish civic society organizations in Germany’s Berlin on Monday....
Fuat Oktay, head of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, met representatives of Turkish civic society organizations in Germany’s Berlin on Monday. Oktay, accompanied by the members of the committee, underlined in remarks to journalists that the European Union should reach out to Türkiye and abandon its “strategic blindness.”
Türkiye has sought accession to the 27-nation bloc for decades, only to see its bid stalled time after time for a wide variety of reasons. For every stage of progress in the membership process, Ankara faced a major obstacle, often the result of antagonism by some members of the bloc toward Türkiye.
Oktay said Europe’s multicultural structure was deteriorating and the EU was on its way to becoming an inward-looking club. “We therefore say that you need to overcome this strategic blindness. Including Türkiye in the EU would benefit you more than it would benefit Türkiye,” he said. Emphasizing that Türkiye’s accession to the EU would give the bloc a strategic vision, Oktay said: “Establishing a partnership with Türkiye as a country that contributes rather than being a burden would serve the interests of both sides.”
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