EU should consider Türkiye equal candidate country: Turkish envoy

By Selen Valente

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union should treat Türkiye as an equal candidate country, said Türkiye's ambassador to the bloc on Monday.

At a preparatory meeting in Brussels for the 80th Türkiye-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting, set for Dec. 19-20 in the Turkish capital Ankara, Faruk Kaymakci commented on a new report on Turkish-EU political, economic, and trade relations presented last week by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.

The report contains important steps, but they do not give enough room for Turkish-EU relations to grow in important areas, according to Kaymakci.

He stressed the importance of treating Türkiye as an equal candidate country, adding that there should be no conditions to starting negotiations on updating the 1995 Customs Union deal.

Kaymakci also pointed to the need to facilitate issuing visas for Turkish nationals until visa liberalization is granted, as pledged under a 2016 deal on migrants.

Deeper cooperation on the fight against terrorism would also strengthen trust between the two sides, he said, adding that joint projects should be implemented for Syrian refugees to return home in a safe, voluntary, dignified way, a step long sought by Türkiye, which hosts over 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

Kaymakci also pointed to Türkiye’s key role in the war in Ukraine waged by Russia and solving issues in the Middle East.

The fact that NATO-EU relations are not at a desired level due to the Cyprus issue undermines Europe's deterrence, one of the reasons for the war waged by Russia in Ukraine, he said.

Institutions such as the EU Parliament should not give fertile ground for supporting terrorist groups, and the lack of measures against terrorism within the EU causes a lack of trust in relations, Kaymakci also said.

Türkiye, an official candidate for joining the bloc, applied for EU membership in 1987, and its accession talks began in 2005.

In the years since, the talks have been essentially frozen due to political roadblocks by certain EU members for reasons unrelated to its suitability for membership, according to Ankara.