The European Union needs Turkey more than Ankara needs the bloc, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, denouncing a new European Parliament report that was sharply critical of the rule of law in his country.

"The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the European Union," Erdogan said to cheers in a televised speech to municipal leaders in Ankara, denouncing as "provocative" last week's European Parliament report which accused Ankara of backsliding on democracy.