President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the European Union on July 8 to revive Türkiye’s long-stalled membership process during talks with the bloc’s top officials on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, while also calling for closer cooperation on security and defense.
Erdoğan met with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the NATO summit, according to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.
The meeting focused on Türkiye-EU relations as well as regional and global developments, according to a readout.
Erdoğan said Türkiye welcomed increasing contacts with the EU at all levels and expected its accession process to be revitalized through the activation of relevant mechanisms and the resumption of necessary meetings.
He said Türkiye has remained an EU candidate country for decades while participating in the Customs Union, arguing that reforms and economic integration have made the country a major manufacturing hub for Europe.
“The integrated structure of the Turkish and European economies strengthens Europe’s competitiveness globally,” Erdoğan said, adding that Ankara expected to be included in future EU regulations on trade and investment.
Erdoğan also said Türkiye had taken initiatives to contribute to Europe’s security and expected allies to act in line with NATO’s principles of solidarity.
The talks also covered Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts to help end the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict between the United States and Iran, and Israel’s military operations in the region, particularly in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, Erdoğan hosted Costa and von der Leyen at a working dinner at the Presidential Complex.
Speaking at an earlier news conference after the NATO summit, Erdoğan renewed his criticism of the EU over Türkiye’s decades-long accession bid, saying he would continue pressing European leaders to move the process forward.
“We will tell them that making Türkiye wait for 53 years is an injustice,” he said. “We will ask them to free Türkiye from this injustice. I hope they will finally open the door.”
On other issues, Erdoğan said NATO leaders also reviewed progress on commitments made at last year’s summit in The Hague and reaffirmed Türkiye’s plans to further increase its contributions to the alliance.
Highlighting Türkiye’s role within NATO, he said the country has the alliance’s second-largest land force and has long served as a cornerstone of security on NATO’s southeastern flank.
He also pointed to Türkiye’s defense industry, saying the country is among the few NATO members capable of producing its own fighter aircraft, tanks, naval vessels and air defense systems.
Erdoğan reiterated that European Union defense initiatives should complement NATO rather than duplicate its capabilities.
The Turkish president held bilateral meetings during the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, before later meeting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
