Turkey’s foreign minister hopes to make progress on improving Ankara’s rocky ties with the European Union on Thursday when he attends a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels for the first time in five years, Reuters reported, citing a source from Turkey’s foreign ministry.
Turkey’s two-decade-old bid to join the bloc has been frozen due to EU concerns over its human rights record along with policy disputes in the eastern Mediterranean and over Cyprus.
At the same time the bloc depends on NATO member Turkey’s help, particularly on migration issues.
Tensions in 2019 between EU-member Greece and Turkey led to Brussels threatening sanctions against Ankara and cutting off some dialogue channels. Ties have improved since 2021, with high-level talks restarting.
Ankara saw the EU’s invitation to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as an effort to seek dialogue, the foreign ministry source said. Deeper ties “with the understanding that Turkey is a candidate country” would benefit both sides, they added.
Fidan will convey Turkey’s expectation that the “necessary will must be shown and concrete steps must be taken” to strengthen ties, Reuters cited the source as saying.
The meeting will include discussions on visas as well as modernizing the EU-Turkey Customs Union, according to Reuters’ source.
Ankara has been calling for these talks to start for months, but little progress had been made.
Fidan will have separate talks with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the bloc’s commissioner for enlargement, Oliver Varhely, as well as with his Greek, Spanish, Belgian and Slovak counterparts, Reuters cited the source as saying.
Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East, the Southern Caucasus and other issues were also on the agenda, according to the Reuters source.
The visit comes amid Ankara’s repeated criticism of Western allies over what it calls their unconditional support of Israel in the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.