Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP, center-right) – the largest in the European Parliament – believes that Turkey’s EU accession process should be stopped after the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, DPA reported on Monday. .

“The last few years have shown that a close partnership is important, but no one wants Turkey to become a full member of the EU, neither Turkey nor the European Union,” Manfred Weber said in an interview published on Monday by the Funke Media Group. .

“We must abandon this process because it blocks better relations more than it supports them,” the EPP leader said in this interview previously seen by DPA.

The expectations after Erdogan’s election victory are understandable, Weber said.

“Especially regarding the goal of establishing peace between Ukraine and Russia, migration policy, economic modernization and the Cyprus problem, we need cooperation. Erdogan should immediately agree to Sweden’s accession to NATO,” he added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 as a result of a coup in Greece and military intervention by Turkey. Numerous UN mediation efforts to bridge the divide have failed. Cyprus has been a member of the EU since 2004, but EU laws and regulations only apply in the south of Greek Cyprus.

Turkey has vetoed Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, citing Stockholm’s lack of commitment to combating “terrorist organizations,” by which Ankara mainly refers to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), DPA also noted, Agerpres reported.