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Turkey’s Bid to Join EU Ruled Out for ‘Foreseeable Future’

  • European Commission chief lashes out at Turkish president
  • Juncker says Turkey moving away from EU in ‘leaps and bounds’
Recep Tayyip Erdogan supporters in 2016.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan supporters in 2016.

Photographer: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey got a sharp reminder that European Union membership is nowhere in sight as a result of growing EU concerns about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on political opponents and his bashing of countries in the bloc.

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, used an annual State of the Union speech on Wednesday to pour scorn over Erdogan’s track record since he survived a coup attempt in mid-2016.