Turkiye turns to BRICS as EU door remains firmly shut

Alameen Templeton

Turkiye is knocking on the BRICS membership door in a bid to forge new alliances beyond its traditional Western allies, an acknowledgment that its 37-year-long bid for EU membership is dead in the water.

Sources told Bloomberg Ankara’s decision to turn to the global South was enervated in no small measure by “frustration over a lack of progress in its decades-long bid to join the EU”.

The move was also motivated by a reappraisal in Ankara of its traditional allies because it believes “the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting away from developed economies”, the sources said.

Aggressive Expansion

Turkiye has been scrabbling unnoticed on the EU’s front door since 2005, but its attempts to gain European inclusion date back to 1987 when it first applied for membership to the EU predecessor, the European Economic Community.

BRICS began to aggressively pursue wider membership this year when sanctions against Russia began to bite and the alliance began exploring ways to dedollarise trade agreements and to avoid Western sanctions.

It expanded its membership for the first time at the beginning of 2024 when it agreed to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE.

Palestine’s Moscow ambassador, Abdel Hafeez Nofal, said in August that the Palestinian Authority (PA) also wanted to join BRICS.

“The different and beautiful thing about BRICS compared to the EU is that it includes all civilizations and races. If it can become a little more institutional, it will produce serious benefits,” Fidan said.

Turning to the East

He confirmed his country may apply for an upgraded dialogue partnership with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Erdogan has also shown interest in joining China’s Shanghai Cooperation Council, attending its summit in Kazakhstan in July.

“We do not have to choose between the EU and the SCO as some people claim. On the contrary, we have to develop our relations with both these and other organizations on a win-win basis,” the Turkish president said over the weekend.

“Turkiye can become a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it improves its relations with the East and the West simultaneously. Any method other than this will not benefit Turkiye, but will harm it,” he added.

The country’s new diplomatic push reflects its desire to cultivate ties with all in a multipolar world, while fulfilling its obligations as a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, sources told Bloomberg.

The BRICS bid is also a result of widening rifts with fellow NATO members after Turkey maintained close links with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the said. Turkey’s foreign ministry and presidency declined to comment.

A shelter from sanctions

Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey’s close ally Azerbaijan are among other countries looking to join at the next BRICS meeting in Kazakhstan.

The Cradle says BRICS touts itself as an alternative to Western-dominated institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund: “New members can potentially get access to financing through its development bank as well as broaden their political and trading relationships.”

Turkey believes joining the Brics could help the country improve economic cooperation with Russia and China, and become a trade conduit between the EU and Asia. It wants to be a hub for gas exports out of Russia and Central Asia, Bloomberg reports.

Erdogan’s administration has been trying to lure Chinese electric carmakers to take advantage of Turkey’s customs union with the EU to boost their market access.

Still, EU membership remains “a strategic target,” Fidan said last week after informal talks with EU counterparts for the first time in five years.