European officials believe that if united opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu wins the presidential election in Turkey, rather than incumbent head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this could complicate Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, writes Politico.
In his election program, Kılıçdaroğlu promised to resume long-frozen negotiations on Turkey’s entry into the union. According to the newspaper, at the moment, the victory of the oppositionist and the reset of relations between Ankara and Brussels would be “incredibly inconvenient” for the EU, given that the member countries of the bloc are seriously discussing its expansion through Ukraine: official negotiations with Kiev may begin in December. The interlocutors of the publication suggest that the EU will not be able to accept two countries at the same time.
“At some point, we will have to make it clear that Ukraine and the Western Balkans are the last expansion. It is inconceivable that the EU could absorb both Turkey and Ukraine. The market will not stand for this,” a senior European official told Politico.
Officially, the leaders of the EU member states are ready to support Kılıçdaroğlu’s reforms if he wins the elections, the newspaper writes. However, hostilities in Ukraine “made Turkey a lesser priority for the bloc.” The acceptance of Kyiv, even if it takes a decade, is seen as a “geopolitical necessity,” the article says.
Source: Rosbalt
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