The EU should explore new arrangements with Turkey as its stalled bid to join the bloc is thrown further into question after a referendum vote gave President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, Brussels’ enlargement chief said yesterday.

Johannes Hahn, the Austrian commissioner in Brussels, said he was seeking a mandate from member states to find a different approach. His move is the first step in a process that could clear the way for a formal suspension of Turkey’s accession talks and their replacement with a new customs deal.

It comes days after Turkish voters narrowly approved a constitutional overhaul to strengthen Mr Erdogan’s grip, a development seen in Brussels as the point of no return for the country’s discredited membership talks.