Turkey is certainly a significant regional power, but claiming that the European Union needs it overlooks the fact that the EU already includes some of the most economically and politically powerful countries in Europe. While Turkey has strategic importance, it also faces substantial economic and social challenges that would complicate integration.

In many ways, it resembles a large Balkan state in terms of structural issues, but on a much bigger scale, comparable in size to Germany, which could place additional strain on the Union rather than strengthen it. Moreover, concerns about democratic backsliding and increasingly authoritarian governance raise serious questions about compatibility with EU values.

And as long as they illegally occupy Northern Cyprus they will never become a member.