The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) announced on 10 July 2023 that Turkish President Erdogan has turned his approval to Sweden’s NATO membership. It is reported that President Erdoğan, who had been strongly opposed to Sweden’s membership, softened his stance on the issue, using his long-cherished aspiration of EU membership as a bargaining chip.

It is unlikely that the EU, which has been rocked by the migrant crisis, would so easily allow Turkey, which is also a bulwark for refugees seeking to reach Europe, to join, but since the last few years have been a series of ‘unthinkable’ events, perhaps it might happen.

Turkey’s accession to the EU, which it has half given up on, would increase Turkey’s presence in the automotive industry if it were to happen. Turkey exports about half of its car production to the EU and is the third largest importer of cars to the EU in 2022, after China (No. 1) and the UK (No. 2). In contrast to the UK, which is struggling in trade negotiations with the EU due to Brexit, it would not be surprising if Turkey becomes a ‘European car superpower’, surpassing the UK.