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Erdoğan says EU membership no longer a priority
Erdoğan says EU membership no longer a priority
In his comments to Al Jazeera, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined on Sunday that European Union accession is no longer a priority for Ankara, though he affirmed that Türkiye is not entirely shutting the door on eventual membership in the bloc.
Published August 17,2026 01:29 PM
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday that Türkiye's EU accession is no longer a priority, though the country is not shutting the door on becoming a member of the bloc.
"The European Union is not a priority for us," Erdoğan told broadcaster Al Jazeera. He said Türkiye had not closed the door on joining but that it no longer took precedence.
In his view, the EU would be the loser if it continued to reject Türkiye.
