The European Commission said Tuesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for a boycott of French goods is a further setback to Turkey’s already stalled bid to join the EU.

“Calls for boycott of products of any member state are contrary to the spirit of these obligations and will take Turkey even further away from the European Union,” a spokesman said.

Turkey applied to join the then European Economic Community in 1987 and began formal accession negotiations to the European Union in 2005, but the talks are seen as effectively frozen.

Protests erupted in several mainly-Muslim countries after President Emmanuel Macron defended a cartoonist over insult to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

In response, Erdogan has resumed his long-standing and intense war of words with Macron, and has added his voice to calls for a boycott of French goods.

This is turn has been criticized by several European leaders, exacerbating the tensions surrounding Turkey’s bid to drill for gas in waters claimed by EU members Greece and Cyprus.

Now, the European Commission, which oversees the EU application process, has warned that an official boycott would breach the terms of Turkey’s relationship with the bloc.

Source: AFP