Turkey aims to become an EU member state by 2023

Turkey aims to become an EU member state by 2023, its ambassador to the bloc has said, while warning that it will be “unacceptable” if it fails to join.

“The Turkish government wants to join the EU by 2023. That year the Turkish republic will celebrate its 100th anniversary. It would be an achievement for my country to become a member by that time,” Selim Yenel told German newspaper Die Welt on Friday. “There are countries that want to leave the EU, while Turkey wants to join it. In the long run, it will be unacceptable for us if we don’t belong to the EU.”

He admitted that the conditions for joining the union are not particularly favourable at the moment, but said the situation may change rapidly.

Yenel urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Council president Donald Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to visit Turkey, arguing that it would help democracy in the country following last month’s failed military coup.

Turkey has been in talks with the EU about its membership since 1999, but progress on negotiations has been slow. The situation has grown more complicated after the EU showed reluctance in cooperating with Ankara in the wake of the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 15 July.

Another bone of contention is the EU-Turkey migrant deal agreed upon in March, that aims to handle the flow of asylum seekers to the EU by returning all new irregular migrants back to Turkey. In return, Turkey was promised a visa-free regime with EU member states. However, the visa-free agreement has been delayed due to Ankara’s refusal to rewrite its anti-terrorism laws, which the EU has warned are being used prosecute journalists and government critics.

Germany’s European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said this week that there cannot be visa liberalization for Turkey until it fulfills its 72 criteria set by the EU.

“Turkey faces a very long and difficult path. The criteria must be fulfilled, and it doesn’t look good at the moment. But I want to make clear that we want and need a European Turkey,” he said.