The Turkish president has introduced yet another condition for approving Sweden’s bid for membership of Nato, this time calling for European countries to “pave the way” for Turkey to join the European Union.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the surprise announcement on Monday at a news conference in Istanbul before flying to Vilnius in Lithuania, where leaders are gathering for a Nato summit taking place tomorrow and Wednesday.
“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the Nato member countries are now members of the European Union,” Mr Erdogan told reporters. “I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years.”
He added: “Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland.”
Earlier, his office said he had told the US President, Joe Biden, during a telephone call on Sunday that Turkey wanted a “clear and strong” message of support for Turkey’s EU ambitions from Nato leaders at the Vilnius summit. However, a White House readout of the call made no mention of the issue.
The announcement today follows more than a year of Turkey refusing to permit Sweden’s accession to the military alliance, which it launched, alongside Finland, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland became the alliance’s 31st member in April.
New members must be agreed on by all members of the alliance. However, Turkey has prevented Sweden’s accession, accusing it of harbouring Kurdish terrorist groups, particularly the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency in Turkey for years. Turkey has also criticised Sweden after a man burnt a copy of the Quran in Stockholm last week.
Mr Erdogan’s announcement today, however, is the first time he has linked his country’s aim to become an EU member with Sweden’s Nato membership bid.
Mr Erdogan and the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, are expected to meet in Vilnius on Monday.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of Nato, said that he supported Turkey’s ambition to join the EU, but that it was not included among the conditions listed in an agreement signed by Sweden and Turkey at a Nato summit in Madrid last year.
These included Sweden cracking down on the PKK, tightening terror laws, and lifting arms embargoes against Turkey. He added that Sweden had met those conditions and that he thought it was “still possible to have a positive decision” in Vilnius.
Although Turkey has been discussed as a potential EU candidate for many years, increasing authoritarianism in the country has prevented much movement towards membership.
Mr Erdogan repeated on Monday that Turkey expected Sweden to fulfil its pledge to crackdown on groups that Ankara considers to be terrorists.
“We are tired of repeatedly saying that [Sweden] needs to fight terrorist organisations and their extensions indiscriminately,” he said.
