European Commission Vice Presiden,t Valdis Dombrovskis dubbed the full accession of Turkey into the EU a very ‘complex issue’, predicting it would definitely not happen in the next 5 years. Commenting on the prospects of Turkey becoming a member of the EU, the Vice President underlined he did not believe it would happen in the foreseeable future, as it involved the candidates meeting a series of terms and conditions. ‘The Commission does not rule out any future expansion of the Eurozone’, he said, though. Dombrovskis added that Bulgaria, the Czech republic and Romania had applied to enter the common currency area, but added it ‘was a difficult process that takes time’.

Turkey and the EU have reached an agreement on the refugee crisis that compels Turkey to make reforms in its legal system, among other things, in exchange for getting some benefits from the EU, including free EU travel visas for its citizens. Part of the deal also includes the opening of certain EU accession chapters for Turkey. The agreement, however has been on shaky grounds lately, due to Turkey’s refusal to change its authoritarian anti-terrorist domestic laws.