“The candidate countries must align themselves with all EU standards and rules” the representative of the Commission responsible for external affairs explained on Tuesday Peter Stano, in the shadow of Tayyip Erdogan’s blackmail for Turkey’s accession to the BRICS. Ankara is unhappy because the accession procedures with the Union have “bogged down”.

“BRICS (a.k.a. BRICS+ is a coalition of ten countries that meet in annual summits: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran) and the EU they are completely different organisms in the objectives, in the structure, pointed out the representative of the Commission.

Peter Stano, when asked about Turkey’s request to join BRICS, clarified that, “Turkey is a country like any other to decide what is best for it in terms of alliances and cooperation ». The European official added, however, that, as far as the EU’s relations with Ankara are concerned, Turkey remains a candidate country, something that has some limitations.

“We have a customs union between the EU and Turkey and very good trade relations that are very beneficial for Turkey,” noted the Commission representative.