Turkey accuses EU of hypocrisy after report on accession talks

Ankara accused the EU on Wednesday of hypocrisy in a report that says Turkey is “moving further away” from the bloc and its membership bid is at a standstill. The report, endorsed by EU ministers in Luxembourg, came two days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a fresh five-year term, with sweeping new executive powers. The EU General Affairs Council said Brussels could not open any more ‘chapters’ or policy areas in accession talks or modernize the EU-Turkey customs union due to Ankara’s failure to meet European standards in various areas, Reuters reports. Ankara says EU membership remains a strategic goal. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry cited “unjust and dishonest treatment” of Ankara, adding that “it is hypocritical and inconsistent to argue that it is our country that moves away from the [accession] process despite the EU’s stance.”