Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was invited to attend an informal meeting of European Union ministers in Brussels next week, the ministry’s spokesperson said Thursday.

Ankara hopes the meeting, an invitation to which comes after a five-year hiatus, will pave the way for improved ties with the bloc.

EU candidate Türkiye's ties with the bloc have been rocky in recent years. Its bid to join the EU has long been frozen due to what Ankara considers political opposition to its membership by several member states' differences, as well as differences over regional policies, namely in the Eastern Mediterranean and the ethnically split island of Cyprus. However, the bloc depends on the help of NATO member Türkiye, particularly regarding migration.

During tensions between EU-member Greece and Türkiye in 2019, Brussels threatened sanctions against Ankara and cut off specific dialogue channels. Ties have improved since 2021, with high-level talks restarting.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said Fidan had been invited to attend the meeting on Aug. 29, which Ankara hoped would form the basis to overcome the "deadlock" from 2019, adding it showed the EU recognized the need to improve ties too.

"We welcome this invitation. We evaluate it as a search for dialogue from the EU," Keçeli said, adding that cooperation and dialogue with the bloc must be on a "continuous and systematic" basis and strengthened in a "sustainable and predictable" way to improve ties.

He added the bloc's positive approach should not be limited to such meetings, saying Ankara expected "concrete steps" on the issues of its accession, visa liberalization for Turks, talks to modernize a customs union with the EU, and on deepening dialogue on economic, political, transportation and energy matters.

Türkiye has good ties with Hungary, which took over the EU's rotating presidency on July 1 and has previously said it hopes Budapest's presidency will yield progress on these issues.

EU process

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 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 bloc's foundation. 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 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 uncertain.

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.