ISTANBUL
\nThe European Union\u2019s enlargement commissioner told Turkiye on Wednesday to address issues around democracy and the rule of law if it wants to boost its drive to join the bloc.
\nAnkara secured a pledge from Brussels to resurrect stalled membership negotiations in exchange for lifting its blockade of Sweden\u2019s drive to join the NATO military alliance.
\nTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made mending torn ties with Western allies one of his priorities after winning a difficult election in May.
\nThe EU\u2019s enlargement chief Oliver Varhelyi came to Ankara to try and gauge where the sides could find common ground.
\nVarhelyi told reporters that he hoped to come up with \u201csomething tangible and something positive\u201d for the bloc\u2019s leaders to discuss at a European Council summit in December.
\n\u201cI think this partnership has huge potential,\u201d he said.
\nBut Varhelyi noted that negotiations were currently at a \u201cstandstill\u201d and needed action by Turkiye on human rights issues to move on.
\n\u201cFor this to remobilize, there are very clear criteria to set out … (that include) democracy and the rule of law,\u201d he said.
\nTurkiye first applied to be a member of the European Economic Community \u2014 a predecessor to the EU \u2014 in 1987.
\nIt became an EU candidate country in 1999 and formally launched membership negotiations with the bloc in 2005.
\nThe talks stalled over European concerns about human rights violations that came in the midst of a sweeping crackdown Erdogan launched after surviving a failed 2016 military coup.
\nBut Ankara accuses Brussels of never seriously considering membership for what would be the largest majority-Muslim nation of the 27-nation bloc.
\nErdogan has publically raised problems Turks have reported getting European tourist visas and accused Brussels of trying to turn Turkiye into a \u201cwarehouse\u201d for migrants.
\nTurkiye helped stem Europe\u2019s migrant crisis by agreeing to temporarily house millions of Syrians and other people fleeing war zones in exchange for billions of euros in aid in 2016.
\nTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Brussels on Wednesday of putting \u201cpolitical\u201d obstacles to the accession talks.
\n\u201cWe expect the EU to demonstrate the will needed to improve relations and to act more brave,\u201d Fidan said.
\nEU chief Charles Michel said last month that the bloc should get ready to admit new members from eastern Europe and the Balkans by 2030.
\nTurkiye\u2019s membership is not currently on the agenda of the expansion wave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISTANBUL The European Union\u2019s enlargement commissioner told Turkiye on Wednesday to address issues around democracy and the rule of law if it wants to boost its drive to join the bloc. Ankara secured a pledge from Brussels to resurrect stalled membership negotiations in exchange for lifting its blockade of Sweden\u2019s drive to join the NATO […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-354285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n