Hungary recently took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, whose major members often disagree with the country's policies. For Türkiye, it may be a positive step as Ankara and Budapest have reinforced their ties during the terms of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Hungarian experts say that Türkiye-EU relations will follow a positive course, with potential resolutions to existing issues, during their country's presidency of the union.
"Hungary not only seeks out Türkiye but also all of the Balkans and other countries within the EU. It can be said clearly that Hungary is one of the most eager members for this region. In this sense, I expect serious movements and activities,” Zoltan Egeresi, a research fellow at Institute for Strategic and Defence Studies at University of Public Service in Hungary, told Anadolu Agency (AA) recently. Egeresi said that Hungary will strive to be an active EU presidency and will demonstrate effectiveness within this framework. Pointing out that 2024 is the Turkish-Hungarian Culture Year, Egeresi said that the activities within the framework Budapest-Ankara relations will proceed rapidly. He added that this will highlight Türkiye’s importance both in Hungary and the EU. Underlining Hungary's relations with the Turkic world, Egeresi stated: "Hungary became an observer to the Turkic Council six years ago. Hungary is trying to play a bridging role."
Egeresi said Hungary will share its experiences gained as an EU member on integration of Turkic states, and activities in this regard will increase. Egeresi mentioned the possibility that Hungary, currently an observer member in the organization, could become a full member in the future, noting that the country already behaves "practically like a full member” by participating in forums and workshops.
Noting that the EU was founded and strengthened on economic grounds, Egeresi further said that the Organization of Turkic States is following a similar path. "The Middle Corridor project, and perhaps the opening of the Zangezur Corridor in the coming years, increase the importance of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Türkiye for both the EU and Hungary,” he added.
"Hungary will want to capitalize on this increase. In terms of bilateral relations, we can see serious cooperation in various fields; we can see significant energy cooperation between Hungary and Azerbaijan and Hungary and Türkiye,” he further added.
Emphasizing that the Hungarian government supports Türkiye’s EU membership, Csaba Moldicz, the head of the Center for Foreign Economics at Mathias Corvinus College, said that the Hungarian government aims to review and modernize the EU-Türkiye Customs Union Agreement, during its presidency of the EU.
"The Hungarian government wants to put or push Türkiye closer to this line of membership, at the same time, the road is extremely long in that sense that the EU and Türkiye have to manage certain disputes,” Csaba Moldicz told AA.
Describing Budapest’s foreign policy as "pragmatic,” Moldicz further said: "One of the topics that we are going to discuss is a new agreement on European competitiveness. What we see is the European industry, the European economy, is losing ground in front of their competitors,” he added. He also said that the Hungarian government also wants to resolve illegal migration and other disputes, including enlargement, but is primarily focusing on the Western Balkans.
Speaking on Hungary’s possible contributions to the Organization of Turkic States, Moldicz further added that Budapest aims to provide Turkic states with an economic platform to access the EU market, emphasizing reliable and sustainable relationships built on economic cooperation.
Türkiye's relationship with the European project began in 1959 with the signing of the Ankara Agreement, aiming at gradual economic integration between Türkiye and the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the EU. This marked the start of a long-term vision of convergence and potential future membership for the country.
In 1999, Türkiye's aspirations took a concrete step forward when it was granted official candidate status for full EU membership. This decision was met with both enthusiasm and caution within the EU, reflecting the mixed nature of integrating a large and culturally diverse nation like Türkiye.
Formal accession negotiations commenced in 2005 during the term of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who still governs the country. These negotiations involved a comprehensive assessment of Türkiye's alignment with the EU's acquis communautaire, a vast body of laws, regulations and policies that form the foundation of the bloc. The process involved opening and then provisionally closing individual chapters, each representing a specific policy area, upon fulfilling the established criteria.
However, the road to membership proved challenging. Progress on the negotiations was slow. By 2016, only 16 out of the 35 chapters had been opened, and only one had been provisionally closed. By 2018, the accession talks reached a standstill. The EU expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on key issues, while Türkiye criticized what it perceived as double standards and a lack of commitment from the EU. This resulted in a de facto suspension of the accession process, leaving the future of Türkiye's EU membership in a state of uncertainty.
Despite the stalled negotiations, the relationship between the bloc and Türkiye remains multifaceted. Both sides continue to cooperate on various issues of mutual interest. This ongoing engagement, though not directly linked to the accession process, demonstrates the different nature of their relationship.
Since the start of the 2023 summer, Ankara and the bloc have been working to rekindle ties, which, for many years, have operated not toward mutual trust and strategic goals but only out of necessity.
After the presidential and parliamentary elections concluded in May 2023, Brussels shifted its rhetoric from “the importance of cooperation with Türkiye” to “continuing relations on a strategic and forward-looking basis.” The bloc emphasizes strategic interest in developing relations with Türkiye based on cooperation and mutual benefit.
President Erdoğan's reaffirmation of Türkiye's commitment to EU membership, coupled with the supportive stance of EU member states like Estonia, underscores the potential for a renewed phase in EU-Türkiye relations. This phase, characterized by strategic dialogues and mutual understanding, is expected to pave the way for addressing longstanding issues and revitalizing the accession process, bringing both parties closer to achieving their shared goals.
