the European Union is ramping up its efforts to deepen trade relations with turkey in 2024 despite anora's increasing alignment with the bricks block a reflection of its growing disillusionment with stalled EU accession talks in a bid to revive engagement the EU has outlined a comprehensive three-prong strategy this plan includes enhancing highlevel diplomatic engagements resuming European Investment Bank operations in turkey and modernizing the existing Customs Union these initiatives form part of the eu's broader objective to secure turkey's cooperation particularly amid ongoing geopolitical tensions including Russia's war in Ukraine turkey's strategic position is also pivotal for the eu's efforts in migration control and NATO's defense framework recently Turkish president Reep TB erdogan held discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin underscoring turkey's intent to strengthen ties with bricks an economic block consisting of Brazil Russia India China and South Africa now joined by new members such as Iran Egypt Ethiopia and the UAE Putin expressed his support for turkey's aspirations to Foster closer ties with the group turkey's frustration over delayed progress on key issues notably Visa liberalization and updating the Customs Union has driven it to explore alternative alliances including potential membership in the Shanghai cooperation organization and deeper engagement with bricks the recent expansion of bricks which now includes key Regional players like Iran Egypt and the UAE further highlights turkey's shifting foreign policy priorities turkey's application to join the European Union has been one of the most prolonged and complex processes compared to other EU applicants officially applying in 1987 and being granted candidate status in 1999 turkey began formal accession negotiations in 2005 however this process has been fraught with difficulties including political economic and human rights concerns as of 2024 tur has managed to open 16 out of 35 required chapters but only one chapter has been provisionally closed the process has effectively stalled since 2019 largely due to concerns about Democratic backsliding issues surrounding Cyprus and strained EU turkey relations following the 2016 coup attempt in contrast other countries like Austria Finland and Sweden joined the EU in 1995 after just under two years of negotiations these Count's market economies aligned with EU standards facilitating their rapid accession on the slower end Malta and Cyprus took almost 14 years to join due to geopolitical and internal challenges similarly North Macedonia applied in 2004 but only began negotiations in 2020 largely due to disputes with Greece and Bulgaria while the average time to join the EU is around 9 years turkey's nearly 40-year process has been marked by significant political and Regional complexities making it one of the slowest and most challenging accession cases in EU history why is turkey interested in joining bricks turkey's interest in joining bricks stems from several key factors related to its economic and geopolitical Ambitions first turkey is seeking to diversify its International alliances and reduce its dependence on traditional Western institutions like NATO and the European Union turkey's stalled EU accession talks along with perceived neglect of its security concerns by its Western allies have motivated it to explore Alternatives like bricks an organization dominated by Major emerging economies such as China Russia and India from an economic perspective turkey sees bricks as an opportunity to strengthen its ties with large growing markets while Turkey already has significant trade relations with China joining bricks could provide further access to markets in Russia India and Brazil turkey hopes to attract investment diversify trade and potentially explore alternative Financial systems like DD dollarization which has been a focal point for some brics members additionally with the recent brics expansion to include countries such as Egypt the UAE and Iran turkey views membership as a way to enhance its influence in the broader Global South let's take a quick pause could you do us a favor if you enjoy our content please hit the like button to help even more leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments your engagement helps us grow thank you however Turkish officials have emphasized that joining bricks is not int intended as a shift away from its NATO commitments but rather as a complimentary strategy to boost its Global standing and navigate economic difficulties turkey's leaders including president erdogan have articulated a vision of balancing relationships with both eastern and western blocks to ensure maximum economic and political leverage turkey's history of EU accession attempts turkey's quest for European union membership began with a 19 63 anchora agreement which established an association between turkey and the European economic Community the eu's predecessor this agreement laid the groundwork for eventual membership and sought to promote economic integration including the creation of a customs Union in 1995 turkey and the EU reached a pivotal Milestone by establishing a customs Union enabling the free movement of goods between turkey and EU member states this development marked a significant step toward aligning turkey's economic policies with those of the EU turkey's status as an official candidate for EU membership was recognized at the 1999 Helsinki Summit signaling the eu's willingness to consider accession provided turkey met key criteria including improvements in democracy human rights and the rule of law formal accession negotiations began in 2005 with the adoption of a framework covering 35 policy areas however negotiations quickly encountered obstacles particularly over turkey's refusal to open its ports to Cyprus an EU member since 2004 and concerns about turkey's human rights record and judicial Independence political tensions with key EU members including Germany and France further stalled progress in 2016 the European Parliament voted to suspend accession talks in response to turkey's post coup Crackdown citing severe violations of democratic principles despite these challenges turkey's strategic importance was underscored in 2016 when it and the EU reached an agreement to manage the refugee crisis emphasizing turkey's critical role in migration control turkey in response to its stalled European Union accession process has been actively seeking alternative alliances and Partnerships to broaden its geopolitical and economic ties one major focus is the Shanghai cooperation organization where aligning with China Russia and Central Asian countries could boost turkey's geopolitical influence in Asia offering a counterbalance to its Western alliances at the same time turkey is building stronger ties with Middle Eastern and Gulf States focusing on defense and Military cooperation its relationship with Qatar is particularly strong marked by several agreements and joint military initiatives moreover turkey has normalized relations with Saudi Arabia and the the UAE extending its cooperation to defense and Military production this strategy reflects turkey's broader approach to reduce Reliance on any single block and diversify its alliances to enhance Regional security and economic collaboration in Africa turkey's efforts have resulted in significant growth in trade rising from $5.4 billion in 2003 to $34.5 billion by 2021 this engagement is part of turkey's broader strategy to reduce its dependency on the west and diversify its trading partners additionally turkey has been pursuing local currency trade agreements to reduce its exposure to the US dollar aiming to establish Financial sovereignty by introducing Central Bank mechanisms for these transactions however turkey's path to EU membership continues to face opposition from several EU countries France for example has consistently raised concerns over turkey's human rights record and Democratic standards particularly regarding the treatment of journalists and political opposition public opinion in France also reflects cultural concerns related to turkey's predominantly Muslim identity and the potential impact on the eu's secular values similarly Germany has expressed concerns over turkey's political developments particularly following the 2017 referendum that expanded presidential powers and has cited issues regarding human rights and governance Austria has been one of the most vocal opponents frequently calling for a suspension of turkey's EU negotiations citing Democratic backsliding and human rights abuses these ongoing concerns from Key EU member states have significantly impeded turkey's EU accession efforts that's all for this video thank you for watching this video we sincerely appreciate you joining us today if our content resonated with you or sparked inspiration please consider expressing your support by 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