On Wednesday 8 November, the European Commission took the view that Turkey was continuing to distance itself from the EU.
“Accession negotiations remain at a standstill, as Turkey has not reversed the negative trend of moving away from the European Union, with serious backsliding in a number of key areas”, the Commission points out in its Communication on the EU’s Enlargement Policy.
In particular, it highlights “serious shortcomings in the functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey”. “Civil society issues have continued to be seriously undermined” and “the deterioration of human and fundamental rights has continued”, regrets the Commission, which explains that “civil society organisations have faced increased pressure and a shrinking workspace, which has limited their freedoms of expression, association and assembly”.
In addition, the situation in the south-east remains worrying, particularly after the earthquakes in February 2023, and relations with Cyprus have still not improved.
Furthermore, while the Turkish economy is well advanced, it has not grown over the period under review.
According to the Commission, Ankara must take decisive steps to significantly improve its alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy (currently around 10%).
The Commission points out that Turkey remains a key partner for the EU and that cooperation has continued in areas of common interest in important fields such as the fight against terrorism, the economy, energy, food safety, migration and transport.
Following the request of the European Council, the Commission announced that it would present a report this month, together with the EU High Representative, on the state of relations between the EU and Turkey.
Read the Communication on enlargement: https://aeur.eu/f/9fo
Read the report on Turkey: https://aeur.eu/f/9fn (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)