Brussels, Dhu-AlQa'dah 01, 1437, August 04, 2016, SPA -- Turkey remains an EU membership candidate, the bloc's executive stressed Thursday in the wake of a failed coup, dpa reported. Turkey has been a candidate to join the European Union since 1999, but progress has been slow. Government sources in Ankara said Thursday that EU membership remained a strategic goal. European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva stressed Thursday that nothing about Turkey's candidate status has changed, while noting that the country must abide by basic EU values. --SPA 14:58 LOCAL TIME 11:58 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w