The European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, emphasized on Thursday 22 November how the European Commission is doing its utmost to ensure that Member States accept the modernisation of the Customs Union between the EU and Turkey.
"We hope to make progress on modernising the Customs Union", he said after a high-level political dialogue in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator for Turkey's accession to the EU, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
The Commissioner reassured the Turkish Minister that "From the Commission's perspective, we are doing everything we can to convince those Member States that are still reluctant to give us the green light for the modernisation of the Customs Union". According to him, "it is high time" to move forward on this issue, even though the Commission requested a negotiating mandate from the European Council in December 2016 (see EUROPE 11694).
The joint statement issued at the end of the meeting was more modest, explaining only that both sides had "agreed to work towards improving the functioning of the Customs Union and its modernisation as soon as circumstances allow".
The modernisation of the Customs Union is one of the elements agreed in the EU/Turkey declaration of March 2016, even though it focuses on migration issues (see EUROPE 11515). However, some Member States are opposed to this because of the political situation in the country, with the authoritarian and freedom-destroying shift of the current government.
Regarding visa liberalisation, another aspect of the agreement, Turkey still has to fulfil six criteria.
Achieving tangible results is possible
In front of the press, Mr Çavuşoğlu, Mr Hahn and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, emphasized the importance of the partnership.
"We can only welcome the Turkish government's decision to work towards intensifying relations with the EU", she said. "We have a strong interest in developing cooperation that is effective, successful and sustainable”, Mr Hahn added.
According to him, it is necessary to focus on issues on which tangible results can be achieved. He mentioned security, the economy, transport, energy and tourism. According to their joint declaration, the two sides have even decided to intensify their cooperation through a series of high-level dialogues on the economy, energy and transport.
The EU and Turkey also reiterated their willingness to develop their cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
In this area, "we must have close cooperation, it is beneficial for both sides", explained Mr Çavuşoğlu. “We are partners for security, in the fight against terrorism and for the stability of peace in the region", Mrs Mogherini said.
Several regional and international issues were discussed: Iraq, Iran, the Middle East peace process, the Western Balkans, where both sides support a rapprochement with the EU, Libya, and tensions in the Gulf, particularly in Yemen.
The High Representative and the Commissioner also welcomed Turkey's role in hosting Syrian refugees, facilitated by a €6 billion package provided by the European Union.
Turkey is not only an EU partner, but also an accession candidate country, for which negotiations are currently frozen.
In the joint declaration, the accession process is described as an "important framework for fully realising the potential of EU-Turkey relations, as well as for economic, social and political reforms in Turkey". The EU's "possible contribution" to the judicial reform strategy in Turkey was also discussed.
Always the same points of disagreement
As usual, both sides reiterated their guiding principles: Turkey's accession to the EU on the Turkish side, and respect for human rights and the question over Cyprus on the European side.
The Turkish Minister said that the negotiations should be dealt with at a technical level and should not be hampered by political considerations. He added that the cut to pre-accession funds in the EU budget for 2018, which are conditional on respect for the rule of law in Turkey, had damaged the EU's image in the country.
Mr Çavuşoğlu criticised the fact that the opening of the five chapters of accession negotiations had not been acted upon, expressing regret over the Europeans’ double standards. Mrs Mogherini replied that the EU, on the contrary, applied "high standards" and that it was difficult to find partners as reliable as the EU. "Think about it", she added.
Mrs Mogherini and Mr Hahn also stressed the importance of a dialogue between political parties. "Turkey will be stronger, in our view, with a strong and united Turkish society, free media, a systematic and open dialogue between civil society and political policy makers", explained the High Representative, reiterating the EU's concerns regarding the detention of journalists, academics or civil society representatives.
"The state of emergency is now behind us and I hope that all related measures will soon be over", she added. In particular, it called on Turkey to follow up "appropriately" on the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights in which the prolonged detention of the HDP Party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş violated the Human Rights Convention. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)