Manfred Weber says the EU should abandon Turkey's accession process in favour of a close partnership. The EU and Turkey opened accession negotiations in 2005 and 2005.
However, these had come to a standstill in 2018 following Turkey's backsliding on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. The expectations after Erdoğan's election victory are clear, Weber said. "We need cooperation especially when it comes to the goal of peace between Ukraine and Russia, migration policy and the Cyprus issue"