The Managing Director for Western Europe, the Western Balkans, Turkey and the United Kingdom at the European External Action Service, Angelina Eichhorst, stressed on Wednesday 10 February the need to rebuild trust between the EU and Turkey.
Ahead of the March European Council, the European institutions are stepping up contacts with the Turkish side. “It is important that all channels of communication are open”, explained Mrs Eichhorst during a discussion organised by the German Marshall Fund on ‘EU-Turkey Relations: In Search of a Positive Agenda’, recalling that this relationship is important, but also complex.
“Trust is an essential element. We have to trust each other. Turkey must believe us on our intentions and we must believe Turkey on their intentions”, she added, stating that we must avoid surprises, prepare each other for the next stage and on what we want to do.
“It is important that the partners trust each other again to work on an agenda that could include all the elements: customs union, visa liberalisation, migration - additional support for refugees -, additional support for the economy”, she detailed.
Moreover, according to the EEAS representative, “there is huge potential for cooperation on the Green Deal, connectivity, Turkey shows key interest” in these.
At the European Councils in October and December 2020, EU leaders highlighted the possibility of such a positive agenda. “This is a very important signal from the EU leaders and we see from Ankara a signal of keen interest to work together”, the Managing Director stressed.
“We work step by step and have to be realistic in terms of expectations and outcomes”, she added, stressing once again the importance of trust.
Returning to the proposal to organise a conference on the Mediterranean, Mrs Eichhorst said that work was in progress. According to her, “it is important to have a format with all the partners around the table”. Without giving a date or deadline, Mrs Eichhorst said that “it would not be tomorrow” and that it was necessary to prepare well for this meeting and find the right time and place for this conference.
For her part, MEP Željana Zovko (EPP, Croatia), President of the EU-Turkey Forum, stressed that the mood towards Turkey in the European Parliament was poor. According to her, to improve this, Ankara needs to change its narrative internally and improve its respect for civil society, a subject “highly sensitive for the European Parliament”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)