Austria kept blocking it. This lead to Erdogan taking over and he kept pushing.
I don't think they were really that close to joining - too much bad blood ((invasions and stuff) with Austria, Italy , etc.
I don't think they were really that close to joining - too much bad blood ((invasions and stuff) with Austria, Italy , etc.
That being put aside, despite flaunting acceptance and democracy as their foremost goal, EU leaders surely knew not compromising on Turkey's accession would stray them farther of the EU in every way possible. And if that helps with a potentially bigger migrant crisis, so much the better.
I respectfully disagree given the basic fragility of the Suez Canal system along with the fact that Egypt is not growing into a major world power on the back of their governance of this canal.