EU official: Turkey putting membership bid at risk

Published March 21, 2017

The European Union official overseeing the bloc's expansion efforts says Turkish membership will become "more and more unrealistic" unless Ankara changes course soon.

Turkey has been in EU membership talks since 2005. There's increasing concern among European nations about what they view as an accelerating slide toward authoritarian practices under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In recent weeks, diplomatic tensions have been fed by a spat over Dutch and German restrictions on Turkish officials campaigning in a constitutional referendum.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn told Tuesday's edition of Germany's Bild daily that "with regard to the strict accession criteria, Turkey has been moving further and further away from the EU for some time."

He added that "if it doesn't change course quickly, membership will indeed become more and more unrealistic."

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