The summit in Varna between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boïko Borissov and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not enable any real progress in EU-Turkey relations, but once again highlighted the differences between the two parties.
"If you ask if we found solutions or compromises, the answer is no", Tusk told press. Juncker described the meeting as "a summit of mixed feelings, but not mixed messages". And while he believed the two parties were making an enormous mistake in only describing their differences to the public, the Europeans and Erdogan were not backwards in coming forwards to press about their disagreements.
Erdogan thus stated that his country has been an EU candidate since 1993. "And we are still candidates, so we would like to move on towards accession more quickly", he said. The (already complicated) negotiations are now at a halt due to the violations of human rights in Turkey following the attempted coup on 15 July 2016. "I am very against this simple, superficial and sometimes populist and demagogic idea that we are breaking the negotiations with Turkey", Juncker stated, calling for efforts to be continued on both sides.
Tusk said that while the EU understood "Turkey's need to manage its security effectively after the attempted coup and terrorist attacks", it was worried about the fact that "some of the methods used undermine fundamental freedoms and the rule of law". In his view, only progress on the rule of law "would enable EU-Turkey relations to be improved, including the accession negotiations". For Juncker, the Turkish institutions are now strong enough for the state of emergency to be lifted. Erdogan, however, considered that his country respected human rights and that it would continue to fight terrorism "for as long as the threat exists".
Erdogan furthermore reiterated his country's efforts in the fight against terrorism. The EU and Turkey have good cooperation in this area. As evidence of this, Tusk announced that the two parties wanted to broaden their cooperation on foreign terrorist fighters. "The fight against terrorism is our common duty (...) It is only in uniting forces that we can lead the fight against this terrible scourge", Juncker stated.
But the EU is concerned about the Turkish law on terrorism which is very broad, and about Turkey's ongoing action in Afrin, Syria. "Turkey is fighting terrorism on its territory and beyond (...) This contributes to the security of citizens in Turkey, in Syria and also in Europe. The fight against terrorism should not be something that provokes unfounded criticism", Erdogan said. "The escalation in violence (...) in an already tragic and unstable situation must be avoided", Tusk replied, underlining Turkey's responsibility of ensuring the protection of civilians. For Juncker, this intervention should take place "in line with international law".
The EU and Turkey are also close partners in the area of migration and support to refugees. Juncker stated that following the declaration on migration on 18 March 2016, migrant arrivals from Turkey had fallen by 97%, but he countered Erdogan as regards the financial support brought by the EU. In Juncker's view, the EU has honoured its commitments to bring the €3 billion agreed. "Up until now we have received €1.8 billion. We hope the second tranche of €3 billion will also be transferred so we can take all the measures needed to improve the refugees' conditions", Erdogan replied.
On 14 March, the Commission launched the process to mobilise the second tranche of €3 billion. "I would like the member states to join this effort", Juncker stated. A sum of €2 billion comes directly from member states, with some of them seeming little inclined to dip into their pockets again.
Erdogan spoke about other EU promises as part of the declaration on migration: visa liberalisation and the updating of the customs union – two subjects not mentioned by the EU. In early February, Turkey announced it had fulfilled the 72 criteria needed for the liberalisation of visas and Erdogan called on the EU "to work to finalise (the process) as soon as possible". "This should not remain an open question because the Turks should not lose their faith in the EU", he stated. Erdogan also hoped the discussions on updating the customs union would begin "as soon as possible". Several member states are currently reluctant to conduct these discussions.
The latest tension is over the recent Turkish action in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. "Good bilateral relations with the member states are an important commitment in the accession process", Tusk stated. "The EU remains united behind the Republic of Cyprus concerning its right to explore and exploit its natural resources in its exclusive economic zone", he warned. Erdogan asked the member states to act "justly and for the decision mechanism to explore and evaluate the natural resources in the territory of Cyprus and its surrounding area to respect international law".
Juncker meanwhile highlighted the fate of two Greek soldiers who are currently detained in Turkey, and he said he hoped the issue would be settled "in a way that seems desirable to us" before the Greek celebration of Easter on 8 April.
New summit in June
The parties committed to continuing their dialogue. "Between strategic partners, we must know how to maintain an open and frank dialogue continuously in order to deepen what brings us together and resolve what divides us", Juncker stated. "The two parties must work more actively and discuss what it is important to do to improve our relations", Erdogan confirmed. "We agreed that the dialogue must continue, in very difficult circumstances, with objective problems and a sort of conflict of interests and visions", Tusk added.
To continue the dialogue concretely, Borissov announced that another summit of the same type would be held before the end of June. "I hope we will be able to meet again in June and clarify things, subject by subject", he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)