On Monday 4 September, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said it was important not to stop at the words declared during election campaigns in Europe and Turkey when it comes to EU-Turkey relations.
"We have been through a few difficult years. In future, I suggest we look beyond what is said during election campaigns both in Turkey and the EU. I look forward to the time when we can sit down around the table together and can set out what the future of our relations will be", she said when questioned at the Bled Strategic Forum. "The accession negotiations have their own criteria and the statements from different parties have an impact on our frame of mind, but what is important is the results and the measures that can be taken", she added.
While recognising that conversations with Turkey could be difficult, Mogherini stated that they continued. "One thing is clear – the dialogue continues, work on the negotiations continues, and Turkey is currently a candidate country", she said. "We could have an internal discussion within the European Union and they could have an internal discussion in Turkey to know if that will change – for the moment, this is not the case", she added. On 5 September, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would like future relations with Turkey to be discussed at the European Council on 19-20 October.
Mogherini also said that while Europeans focused on EU-Turkey relations as part of the accession negotiations, and this was "understandable", Turkey was also a "key actor in a strategically important region" for the EU – the Middle East and the Mediterranean. "It is a country with which we are working on certain issues that are fundamental and strategic, both for us and for them – from counter-terrorism to the Cypriot question, to Syria", she said, recognising that the EU and Turkey were "awkward partners sometimes on both sides". She also said it was possible to find ways to understand each other better.
During an informal meeting of the Political and Security Committee on 5 September, the German ambassador reiterated his country's position. Merkel called for a halt to the accession negotiations on 3 September (see EUROPE 11854) and in mid-August she announced that the customs union with Turkey would not be updated, although the Commission is awaiting a mandate from the Council to be able to negotiate this update. Berlin would also like the pre-accession funds to be reviewed downwards, as well as those from the European Investment Bank that are intended for Turkey. According to a European source, a number of the EU28 members state ambassadors were more nuanced with regard to the accession negotiations, wanting to preserve a framework for dialogue with Ankara. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)