FILE PHOTO: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn gestures as he addresses a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
VALLETTA (Reuters) - Turkey under President Tayyip Erdogan has turned its back on joining the European Union, at least for now, the bloc's top official dealing with Ankara said, offering economic cooperation instead if both sides can restore friendly ties.
After years of stalemate on Turkey's bid to join the world's biggest trading bloc, EU governments say the process is dead, citing Erdogan's crackdown on dissidents, his 'Nazi' jibes at Germany and a referendum giving him sweeping new powers that a rights group says lack checks and balances.
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