OREANDA-NEWS Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the authorities may raise the issue of holding a referendum in the country on the attitude of the population to the process of accession to the EU. This was reported by media.

"Now 2018 year, and the EU countries still make us wait, - said Erdogan" It is our right to appeal to the 81 million people and find out what answer they will give."

In addition, Erdogan complained that the EU has adopted such countries that can not be compared with Turkey.

In his opinion, it is time for Brussels to decide whether it wants to see Turkey as part of a United Europe.

Erdogan said that he intends to discuss the referendum with other representatives of the Turkish leadership.

The Minister of foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Steph Block, who is on a visit to Turkey, said that the process of negotiations on its accession to the EU has reached a deadlock. He added that Turkey must comply with the requirements of the European Union in order to move the process again.

Turkey, which has been an associate member of the European Union since 1964, applied to join the EU on 14 April 1987. The negotiation process for its admission to the EU began on 3 October 2005.

To join the Union, Turkey must successfully complete negotiations with the European Commission on 33 of the 35 negotiating points (two do not require agreement). After that, the EU countries should vote unanimously for Turkey's membership in the European Union.

On July 6, 2017, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on EU countries and the European Commission to suspend talks on Turkey's accession until the Turkish authorities make amendments to the constitutional reform. In April 2017, a referendum on Turkish constitutional reform was held, resulting in a significant expansion of presidential powers.