Türkiye's membership in the European Union and the bloc's affairs with Ankara are back on the agenda of the continental body. But longstanding issues still stand out, namely, the situation in Cyprus, divided between Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
The European Union emphasized its strategic interest in developing a relationship with Türkiye based on cooperation and mutual benefit, saying Wednesday that it attaches "great importance" to the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus issue within this context. The section of the EU summit's conclusion in Brussels concerning Türkiye was revealed. The statement said, "The European Union has a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the development of a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Türkiye," Ecaterina Casinge, the spokesperson for the European Council president, said on X. It also called for progress in implementing the recommendations outlined in a joint report presented by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell with the European Commission in November 2023.
The EU's approach to the issue drew the ire of Ankara and the Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday to that extent.
"The conclusions on Türkiye by the Special European Council held in Brussels on April 17-18, 2024, are yet another example of the EU's lack of strategic vision on Türkiye and the global developments," the statement said.
"It is contradictory that the council did not take any decisions on the recommendations of the Joint Communication on EU-Türkiye Relations prepared by the High Representative Borrell and the Commission, although the council's conclusions emphasize that the EU has a strategic interest in developing a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Türkiye. Türkiye will never accept an approach that links progress in Türkiye-EU relations to the Cyprus issue. It is necessary to abandon an understanding that reduces these multifaceted relations to the Cyprus issue. Such a mentality cannot make a positive and constructive contribution to the problem, nor to the other regional and global issues," it added.
The ministry, meanwhile, reiterated its commitment to membership to the bloc. "However, we reject the selective limitation of the bilateral cooperation to certain areas. In the coming period, we will review our dialogue with the EU on the basis of reciprocity, taking into account the pace, level and scope of the EU's steps toward Türkiye," it said.
"The European Council tasks Coreper (the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union), respecting the competences of the relevant institutions, to advance work on the recommendations of the Joint Communication in line with previous European Council conclusions and in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner, subject to additional guidance from the European Council," it noted.
The statement evaluated that Türkiye's constructive participation will be beneficial in advancing various areas of cooperation identified in the report. It also noted that the EU attaches "particular importance to the resumption of and progress in the Cyprus settlement talks in further enhancing EU-Türkiye cooperation.” The statement underscored the EU's commitment to the U.N.-led process for resolving the issue, stating that the EU stands ready to actively support all stages of the U.N.-led process with all appropriate tools at its disposal.
During the external relations session of the summit, discussions were held regarding the recommendations in Borrell's report prepared with the European Commission concerning Türkiye.
The report included proposals such as the reactivation of the EU-Türkiye High-Level Dialogues on Economy, Energy and Transportation, which were suspended in 2019, conditional on Ankara continuing to refrain from all illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and other actions that violate sovereignty and sovereign rights. It also suggested restarting Partnership Council and High-Level Political Forum meetings at the ministerial level, increasing the number of sectoral high-level dialogues on climate, health, migration and security, agriculture and research and innovation.
Elsewhere, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday that advancements in relations between the EU and Türkiye are linked to progress on the Cyprus problem.
Recalling that EU-Türkiye relations are among the topics to be discussed during a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels, Mitsotakis said: "For the moment, I am satisfied with the conclusions we have reached, which recognize the fact that relations between the European Union and Türkiye may progress, but always within the framework of the decisions taken by the European Council in recent years.”
"I welcome the fact that there is an explicit reference linking the progress of EU-Türkiye relations with the progress that can be made on the Cyprus issue,” Mitsotakis, who is expected to visit Türkiye soon, added.
Maintaining that the U.N. Security Council’s related resolutions are the only framework within which the Cyprus problem can be resolved, he said: "We express our expectation that this new effort, which is being made under the new UN envoy, will finally be able to bear fruit.”
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983. It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the U.K.
