Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for European Affairs Faruk Kaymakcı reiterated on Wednesday 17 March that his country is a candidate for EU membership and that the Union should consider it as such.
Accession negotiations have been frozen for several years due to the Rule of law and human rights situation in Turkey.
“The prospect of membership must be strengthened”, Kaymakcı stressed at a debate organised by the Atlantic Council.
According to him, his country is a “neglected and somewhat discriminated against” member of the European family. “It is important to treat Turkey fairly as an EU candidate”, the deputy minister insisted, adding that his country’s accession, while the most complicated, will also be the most useful the EU has seen or will see.
Noting the various areas of cooperation between the EU and Turkey - notably economic, security or energy - Kaymakcı explained that its full potential will only be achieved with his country’s accession.
Welcoming the European Council’s proposal for a new positive agenda with his country, he said that modernising the customs union was a priority, especially for recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. Visa liberalisation also remains a priority for Ankara.
Kaymakcı also called for an update of the migration agreement. He said the new draft should also cover non-Syrians, including migrants from Asia, and EU support for Turkey to return Syrian refugees to northern Syria “in safety, on a voluntary basis and in a respectful way”. According to the Deputy Minister, 425,000 Syrians have returned to the north of their country.
The Foreign Affairs Council on 22 March and the European Council on 25-26 March will discuss EU-Turkey relations. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)