EU could face more exits: Turkish president
The Turkish president blames “Islamophobia” for delaying his country’s accession to the European Union, and warns that more countries could follow Britain's suit in leaving the bloc.
“The practice currently against Turkey is Islamophobia, that is why they are delaying taking us in,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech late on Friday.
Erdogan made the remarks hours after the results of a referendum in the UK, popularly known as Brexit, showed that a majority of Britons voted to leave the EU after 43 years of membership.
He added that the UK’s exit from the bloc following the referendum has roots in the union’s double standards.
“If the European Union deepens its inconsistencies and continues on its path, in a short time it will be inevitable for it to face new exits,” Erdogan stated.
In the Thursday referendum, some 51.90 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU, while roughly 48.10 percent of people voted to stay in the union. More than 17.4 million Britons said the country should leave the bloc, as just over 16.14 million others favored remaining in the EU.
Ankara's accession had become a hot-button issue in the run-up to the UK’s Brexit referendum, especially as supporters of the “Leave” camp argued that the membership will open the doors for millions of Turks to enter Britain.
Turkey, which straddles Asia and Europe, entered formal membership talks with the EU in 2005, but the bloc has opened 15 chapters out of the 35 required for Ankara’s accession. Only one chapter has been completed so far.
Erdogan’s comments, however, echoed those of Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli who said, “The fragmentation of the EU has started. Britain was the first to abandon ship.”
Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik also said the British attitude towards Ankara’s accession had been negatively affected by Islamophobia and anti-Turkish sentiment.
“This has been a worrying process, in which mainstream politicians relied on the far right's rhetoric too much,” Celik said on Friday, adding, “We are a country that speaks on behalf of Europe. We also have words to say on how Europe will be afterwards.”
Outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was once a supporter of Ankara's membership, has said it would take "until the year 3000" for Turkey to join the EU.
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