UPDATE - EU needs to engage more with Türkiye, says foreign policy chief

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM JOSEP BORRELL, HADJA LAHBIB

By Nur Asena Erturk

The EU needs to engage more with Türkiye, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Saturday.

"I think that we have to call for closer cooperation between the EU and Turkey, avoid confrontation, and increase cooperation. For that we have to reach out with Turkey, taking into account the Cyprus issue," Josep Borrell said at a joint news conference with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, following the informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.

"The conclusion is that we need to engage more with Turkey and work on areas where our interests converge and avoid irritants among us," he said.

Lahbib, for her part, said that Türkiye, as a candidate country, will be invited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EU’s biggest enlargement in its history.

The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Türkiye is a guarantor country for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.

An official candidate for joining the bloc, 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.

- Situation in MidEast

Regarding what he called a "man-made catastrophe" in Gaza, Borrell said that the ministers discussed the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

"We want to know more about how UNRWA is working. And that's why I have invited Commissioner General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini … to attend the next Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development ministers on the 12th of February to exchange with him about all the aspects related with this issue," he said.

According to him, the EU and some of its member states, including Germany, France, and Spain, did not suspend their support to UNRWA but took “precautionary measures.”

"There is no substitute for UNRWA. UNRWA has been playing a critical role to support the Palestinian refugees and not only in Gaza," he said.

"In general terms, the position of European Union and member states is to put pressure on Israel to obey by international law," Borrell said.

Several countries have suspended funding for UNRWA after Tel Aviv alleged that some of the agency’s staff were involved in the cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

UNRWA said it terminated contracts with several employees following the Israeli allegations.

- War in Ukraine, EU-Africa relations

Borrell reiterated EU's "firm" support to Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian victory is crucial not only for Ukraine, but for the peace and stability in Europe," he said.

On relations with Africa, Borrell said: "We will support Africa's quest for a greater representation in multilateral fora."

Lahbib also said that the EU needs to "invest more in dialogue and step up our cooperation and commitment."