Brussels — The EU warned Turkey on Wednesday that "backsliding" on rights after a coup attempt was putting its membership bid at risk and urged Ankara to decide whether or not to commit to the bloc. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, hit back at the "shameless" EU and challenged it in return to make a final choice on Turkey’s long-stalled application for a place in the EU. "Turkey has apparently chosen to move away from Europe," EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said as he unveiled an annual report on EU candidate countries. "The ball is clearly in Turkey’s court now. Turkey’s leadership must tell us what they want." Hahn said the 28-nation union had "serious concerns" about the crackdown launched by Erdogan in the wake of the attempt by part of the military to oust his government in July. "Turkey as a candidate country must fulfil the highest standards to which it committed itself and on which there cannot be any compromise. In this year’s report we stress Turkey’s ba...
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