European Commission releases annual report on EU candidate country Türkiye

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – The European Commission on Wednesday released its annual report on EU candidate country Türkiye as part of its 2022 Enlargement Package.

The package, which includes the EU Commission’s latest evaluations on candidate countries Türkiye, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, was announced by Oliver Varhelyi, the neighborhood and enlargement commissioner.

Criticisms of Türkiye from previous years’ reports on issues such as democracy, fundamental rights, and the judiciary were repeated this year as well.

Such criticisms have been repeatedly rejected by Türkiye, and led it to dismiss reports from past years as “null and void.”

On the other hand, the report made positive statements about Türkiye on topics such as foreign policy, migration, the economy, and energy.

Türkiye 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.

Turkish officials argue that the EU can never live up to its potential on the world stage without Turkish membership in the bloc, making continued efforts to stymie its accession bid blind and short-sighted.

The report said that security and military operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria continue, and the security situation in the border regions remains uncertain due to repeated terrorist acts by the terrorist organization PKK.

Reiterating that the EU condemns the terrorist PKK attacks, the reports suggested “the government has a legitimate right and a responsibility to fight terrorism, but it is essential that it does so in accordance with the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

On migration the report said that “Türkiye continued to make significant efforts to host and meet the needs of one of the largest refugee communities in the world.”

The report said that since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Türkiye made efforts for de-escalation, implemented the Montreux Convention on the Turkish Straits, condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, and made initiatives on a grain deal.

“It also undertook a diplomatic initiative to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain; the deal agreed by Ukraine and Russia on 22 July in Istanbul, facilitated by the UN and Türkiye, would not have been possible without the constructive role of Türkiye, which is also involved in facilitating the implementation of the deal,” said the report.

“Nevertheless, Türkiye refrained from aligning with EU sanctions against Russia,” it added.

Türkiye has said its balanced approach on the war allows it to maintain contact with both Russian and Ukrainian officials and make progress towards peace where no other country could.

The report also said: “The improved dynamic in EU-Türkiye relations observed since December 2020, following the de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean, prevailed for several months before tensions in the Aegean resumed in April 2022.”

Türkiye has decried repeated provocative actions by Greece, which has defied international law, armed demilitarized islands, and pursued maximalist territorial goals while Türkiye has pushed for dialogue based on the law to reach a fair sharing of the region’s natural resources.

Türkiye lashed out at the report, saying that it lacks vision and is biased.

"The European Commission's 2022 report on Türkiye once again reveals the EU's stance towards our country, which is far from its strategic point of view and lacks vision," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Saying that the annual report on the nation’s EU bid disregards the bloc's responsibilities towards a longtime candidate country and displays double standards, the ministry called it "yet another example of the EU's biased attitude towards Türkiye."

The report reflects the Greek and Greek Cypriots' illegal and maximalist views on the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea as well as the Cyprus issue, said the ministry. Türkiye has long decried efforts for the EU to get involved in bilateral issues between Ankara and Athens.

The report also ignores Turkish Cypriots as well as the views of Türkiye and Northern Cyprus, said the ministry statement, adding that it also reveals whose interests the bloc takes into account while writing the report. Türkiye has also criticized the EU's failure to keep its promises to the Turkish Cypriots while admitting the Greek Cypriots into the bloc in 2004 as the sole representative of the island.

"The EU is not an international judicial body which decides on maritime jurisdiction areas," the ministry stressed.