Turkey Cannot become an EU Member, says EPP's lead candidate for European elections
foto: Manfred Weber, member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and top candidate of the European People's Party (EPP) for the European elections, speaks at the party's traditional Ash Wednesday meeting in Passau, Germany, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder
Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union, said Manfred Weber, the European Peoples Party's (EPP) lead candidate for the upcoming European elections, adding that he would end accession talks if he becomes European Commission president, writes Reuters.
Turkey says EU membership remains one of its top strategic goals even though accession talks, formally launched in 2004, have been stalled for years.
Weber, the center-right EPP candidate to be EU Commission President after European Parliament elections in May, told German conservatives in Bavaria "everyone wants good relations with Turkey, everyone wants to work closely together".
"Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union, let's make that clear," Weber added.
In October, President Tayyip Erdogan said he would consider putting Turkey's long-stalled bid to join the EU to a referendum, signaling exasperation with a process he says has been waylaid by prejudice against Muslims.