Member state of the European Union

Brussels reports say six countries made ‘no progress’ last year in meeting freedom of expression criteria for EU membership - while Turkey was described as ‘backsliding’.

Johannes Hahn, EU Enlargement Commissioner, stated that "the prospect of EU membership continues to drive transformation and anchor stability" in the Balkans, presenting the European Commission's annual progress reports on the Western Balkans and Turkey in Brussels on Wednesday.

For the first time, the European Commission has questioned continuing the negotiations with Turkey for full membership in the European Union.

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations, presented to the foreign affairs commission of the European Parliament the reports on Turkey and the candidate states of the Western Balkans.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to campaign to halt European Union membership talks with Turkey if he is again elected as French head of state in next year's presidential elections.

"It was time that someone told Turkey its place is in Asia," Sarkozy said.  

Former European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein once said Turkey was too big, too poor and too different to become a full member of the European Union.

The European Union executive will propose on Wednesday relaxing visa requirements for Turks, two sources said, after Ankara threatened to walk away from a migration agreement unless the EU eased travel rules for Turkish citizens.

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden have proposed to the European Commission to extend temporary controls at the internal borders of the Schengen Area to tackle migration flows more efficiently, Die Welt reported on Saturday.

A recent headline in leading French newspaper Le Monde said it all: "Migrants, the Euro, Brexit: The European Union is mortal." And it's true. The EU could actually collapse over these three threats.

Croatia has sent a document to other EU member-states setting out the requirements it wishes to turn into EU measures towards Serbia.

This concerns the opening of chapter 23 in Serbia's EU accession negotiations.

The European Parliament sent a stern warning to EU membership candidate Turkey on April 14, accusing its government of "backsliding" on democracy and the rule of law.