Ankara Says Revival of Turkeye-EU Ties Benefits All

Foreign Minister Fidan attended the EU’s informal meeting upon the invitation of the EU’s high representative of foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell, and discussed the Ankara-Brussels relationship and regional issues with his colleagues.

Both Fidan and Borrell expressed their satisfaction with the conversation and their hopes for the continuation of the high-level dialogue.

“We believe that revitalizing Turkey-European Union relations is in everyone’s interest,” Fidan said after the meeting, calling the EU to follow a positive policy in this direction as well.

“EU membership is a strategic goal for Turkey. Our president has clearly expressed this on different occasions. We want to move forward through the positive agenda,” Fidan underlined.

However, Fidan urged the EU not to link the unresolved Cyprus question to the Turkish-EU ties. He stressed this would not be healthy and wouldn’t yield results.

The Turkish foreign minister informed that he conveyed Ankara’s expectations for the modernization of the customs union and visa liberalization for the Turkish nationals. “We have fulfilled 66 criteria and only six criteria are left to fulfill. We are working to fulfill them with our relevant institutions,” he said.

Fidan reiterated the importance of high-level and institutional dialogue between Ankara and Brussels and stressed “Today, almost all my colleagues have underlined that structural and regular consultations with Turkey on all issues, particularly foreign policy, security and defense policies should continue. They have also stressed that Turkey is playing a crucial role in the Russia-Ukraine [war], war in Gaza, Syria, Iraq, the Middle East, Africa and South Caucasus.”

 Borrell: I hope this meeting will be first step

For his part, Borrell highlighted the meeting as a potential first step toward resolving longstanding issues and strengthening bilateral relations. He reaffirmed Turkey's status as an EU candidate country, stressing the importance of maintaining constructive dialogue.

"I hope this invitation to the Turkish foreign minister to our meeting will be the first step to renew a process of dialogue to address all problems, especially the Cyprus issue," Borrell remarked.

Despite the positive tone of the discussions, Borrell said that no specific timetable was set for advancing Turkey's EU membership process.

However, he reaffirmed that "Turkey is a candidate country and will continue to be so," indicating the EU's willingness to keep the door open for future negotiations.