Erdogan Urges EU to Avoid Undermining Turkey’s Position, Show Support

(MENAFN) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the European Union should avoid any rhetoric or actions that could weaken Ankara’s “constructive stance,” adding that Brussels should instead acknowledge and appreciate it.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Türkiye is fundamentally different from the past and emphasized that global power dynamics are no longer limited to Western influence.

"Let it not be forgotten that Türkiye is no longer the old Türkiye, nor is the world still confined to the sphere of influence of Western states," Erdogan said during his address to the nation after chairing the Cabinet meeting.

He argued that the EU cannot achieve global influence or become a central international actor without Türkiye as a full member, criticizing what he described as a lack of strategic perspective within the bloc toward Ankara.

The EU’s approach toward Türkiye, he said, continues to show “strategic myopia” across its institutions.

Erdogan added that the real issue is not Türkiye’s position, but how the European Union defines its own future role, insisting that Europe’s reliance on Türkiye is growing.

“...Tomorrow this need will increase even further,” he said.

Referring to Türkiye’s long-standing accession process, which began in 1959, Erdogan said the EU has often taken a biased approach toward Ankara’s membership bid.

He also noted that relations between Türkiye and the EU saw renewed momentum from 2015 onward, partly due to increased migration pressures linked to the Syrian conflict, which he described as the largest wave of irregular migration in Europe since the Second World War.

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