On Monday 24 April, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations said that the EU and Turkey should have "a more fundamental discussion on a possible new format of cooperation".
During a meeting with journalists in Brussels, Hahn said that "the current situation is not tenable either for them or for us". The relationship, which was already complicated, has become increasingly worse since the attempted coup in Turkey last July.
"We should say 'ok, let's put everything we have on the table and look at what the future kind of cooperation could be", he said. He did not, however, explain what he meant by 'new kind of cooperation', but stated it would "probably be necessary to be creative on this subject".
In Hahn's view, updating the customs union between the EU and Turkey that entered into force in 1995 could be an area in which "more intense and more rational cooperation with Turkey is possible and in our mutual interest".
The EU foreign affairs ministers will meet informally in Malta on 28 April and the situation in Turkey is on their agenda. Their counterparts from the EU accession candidate countries have been invited to take part in the meeting on implementing the global strategy. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)