Turkey could hold a referendum on whether to continue membership talks with the European Union next year, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, repeating his warning to Brussels that it needed to “make up its mind” on Turkish accession, Reuters reports.
In a speech in Ankara broadcast on television, Erdogan urged Turks to be patient until the end of the year and then said a vote could be held on EU membership.
Erdogan also said that he would approve reinstating the death penalty – a move that would likely end any hope of Turkish membership of the EU – if parliament passed a law on it, and said that too could be part of a referendum.
Turkey is expected to hold a national vote on constitutional changes next spring, including boosting the powers of Erdogan’s office to create a presidential system akin to that of the United States or France.
