UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS, PLUS BACKGROUND
By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) - The EU Commission on Wednesday said the EU is interested in developing a "mutually beneficial partnership" with Türkiye.
"The European Union clearly has a strategic interest to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with Türkiye and maintain a stable and secure environment in the eastern Mediterranean," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference in Brussels along with European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, where they presented a joint report on Turkish-EU relations.
The EU has identified a number of possible options towards engagement with Ankara, Borrell said, adding that the EU Commission has suggested resuming dialogue on updating the Customs Union with Türkiye, as well as taking more steps on trade, investment, migration, and visa liberalization.
Turkish leaders have long pressed for an update to the Customs Union as well as for the European Union to keep its promises on visa liberalization made under a 2016 pact on irregular immigrants.
The commission also proposed "all efforts be taken to bridge the key differences" between Ankara and the EU.
The bloc expects Türkiye to cooperate with the EU to block the circumventing of sanctions on Russia and to create a climate conducive to the resumption of Cyprus settlement talks, Borrell said.
He added that the commission sees room for improvement on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Türkiye as part of relations with the EU.
On defense cooperation with Ankara, he said that the cooperation between EU member states and NATO ally Türkiye has "a good framework."
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.