President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the European Union needs Türkiye as a full member and urged the bloc to change what he described as a biased and short-sighted approach toward Ankara.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting on May 4, Erdoğan said the EU should avoid rhetoric and actions that could undermine Türkiye’s “constructive stance,” adding that Brussels should instead recognize and support it.
“Türkiye is no longer the old Türkiye, nor is the world confined to the sphere of influence of Western states,” he said in televised remarks.
He stressed that the EU cannot become a global actor or a center of attraction without Türkiye’s full membership, adding that Europe’s “strategic myopia” toward Ankara remains visible across many EU institutions.
“The issue is not where Türkiye stands, but where the EU sees itself in the future,” Erdoğan said, arguing that Europe needs Türkiye more than Türkiye needs Europe.
Türkiye’s EU accession process, which began in 1959, has long been stalled. Erdoğan said the bloc had taken a biased stance toward Ankara’s bid and failed to maintain momentum after 2015, particularly following what he described as insufficient support after the 2016 failed coup attempt.
Despite what he called “double standards,” Erdoğan said Türkiye continues to pursue full membership while maintaining close contacts with EU institutions and member states.
“At times, they targeted our democracy; at times, they saw our economy as a threat; at times, they spread fear over our population; at times, they used our faith as an excuse to otherize us,” he said, accusing the EU of repeatedly finding pretexts to delay Türkiye’s accession.
He added that Türkiye would not accept being treated as a partner only in times of necessity.
“We are not a country whose existence is remembered only when needed and pushed aside at other times,” Erdoğan said.
The president said Türkiye aims to become one of the leading poles in an evolving global system and expressed hope that European leaders would move beyond what he described as political and historical prejudices.
“The winner of sincere and equal relations will be the European continent, of which Türkiye is an inseparable part,” he said.