Partnership yes. Membership no

Turkey's crackdown on LGBT groups, the opposition and the media is pushing it further from European Union membership, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said on Friday during an official visit.

"Recent developments affecting media freedom, the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and local democracy are widening the gap with Turkey's goal of joining the EU," she said in Edirne, northwestern Turkey, near the Bulgarian border. The EU's next enlargement report, due on 28 October, will reflect "our serious concerns", she said, adding that she would not shy away from stating the facts "publicly and clearly".

A campaign called "My Family is Safe" has led to a crackdown on the LGBT+ community since mid-September, with many arrests and the closure of activists' social media accounts. 

Journalists have also been detained, along with opposition mayors in various cases. The government has vowed to continue the campaign despite protests from the EU and some international rights groups.

Turkey, still officially a candidate, applied to join the European Economic Community in 1987 and the EU in 1999. Accession talks opened in 2005 have been at a standstill for years. 

Relations soured after the failed coup attempt of July 2016 and the mass purges of opponents and journalists that followed. 

Brussels also criticises Ankara's stance on Cyprus, divided since 1974 and where Turkey set up the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in 1983, recognised only by Ankara.