Austria Opposes Resumption of EU-Turkey Accession Talks

The Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, has expressed opposition to the resumption of negotiations between the European Union and Turkey regarding the latter's accession and has called for the development of a new framework for cooperation between Brussels and Ankara. The Chancellor made these remarks in an interview with Die Welt.

"We support further rapprochement between Ankara and Brussels, but we cannot envision Turkey's full membership in the EU," Nehammer stated.

"It is important that we engage honestly with each other, which also includes the formal cessation of years-long frozen negotiations regarding EU membership and the development of a new concept for friendly cooperation," he emphasized.

In this context, the Chancellor advocated for the establishment of a new partnership between the EU and Turkey, based on "mutual trust and cooperation on economic and political issues." He stressed that Turkey remains a very important partner for the EU.

Earlier, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had called for the acceleration of his country’s EU accession process. It is worth noting that Turkey has been a candidate for EU membership since 1999, with formal negotiations beginning in 2005. Die Welt reminds us that negotiations were halted in 2018 due to ongoing violations of the rule of law and fundamental democratic rights in Turkey.