European Union foreign ministers agreed on 20 July Thursday that the bloc should re-engage with Turkey, but set some conditions and did not endorse Ankara’s calls to revive its moribund membership bid. The most immediate prior condition is resumption of peace talks on the divided island of Cyprus.
On 26 July, Nicosia stated that in this context, is hoping to appoint an EU special representative to encourage both sides’ authorities to resume negotiations.
“Constructive steps by Ankara on the Cyprus problem will allow us to consider several openings towards Turkey in response, in the form of a gradual and mutually beneficial package, in parallel with the resumption and progress in the UN-led negotiations, creating thus a win–win situation,” the Cypriot official said.
For the time being, modernisation of the customs union and visa liberalisation “seems to be part of the options we are talking about” to revive the relationship, one EU diplomat said, adding that restarting accession talks “still needs to be debated”, according to EurActiv.
Erdogan turns towards EU, hopes for economic benefits
On July 10, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in an unexpected move, called for a re-opening of Ankara’s accession talks, linking the idea to Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance.
“We discussed how to re-engage with Turkey,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a press conference after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We are convinced there is a reciprocal interest to develop a stronger relationship between Turkey and the European Union.”
But he noted the EU wanted Turkey to show movement too, especially on the issue of EU member Cyprus, the northern part of which was invaded by Turkey in 1974 and has since been under occupation.
“Also, upholding fundamental freedoms and values as defined by the European Convention of Human Rights, of which Ankara is part of, will be essential.”
Ankara expects concrete progress from the EU on issues such as visa-free travel, as well as closing some chapters in the EU accession process, a senior Turkish official told Reuters earlier this month, adding that the West needed to support Turkey in its financial needs.
Nicosia: Cyprus ready to trade Turkey’s EU accession process in favour of settlement talks
Nicosia is lobbying to appoint a special envoy for Cyprus in the hope of restarting talks with Turkey and moving toward a settlement on the divided island, using the EU accession process as an incentive, EURACTIV has learnt.
The new momentum to address the issue comes in the wake of last month’s re-election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as the Greek and Cypriot elections.
“One of the envisaged tasks of [a new special envoy] would be to talk to Ankara, with a view to highlighting all that Turkey stands to gain from a reunified Cyprus,” a Cypriot official told EURACTIV.
“The EU is uniquely placed to offer such incentives to Ankara, which have been on the table for a number of years but have not materialised for different reasons,” they said.
Ahead of the talks, the EU’s diplomatic service (EEAS) produced a short memo, seen by EURACTIV, which – next to Ankara’s chances for its membership bid – advises foreign ministers to consider how to “actively contribute to the speedy resumption of Cyprus settlement talks”.
The idea is also not new, as EU leaders in 2020 said they stand ready to “play an active role in supporting the negotiations”, including in naming a representative to the UN Good Offices Mission, once the UN-led process is relaunched.
EU leaders in June also reiterated the EU “is ready to play an active role in supporting all stages of the UN-led process, with all appropriate means at its disposal”.
“The appointment of a well-known and respected political personality would provide for the creation of much-needed momentum in the efforts to resume the Cyprus problem negotiations,” the Cypriots argued.
However, EU diplomats cautioned that the process may not succeed, as the positions are far away from each other or would take a very long time to bring any fruit.
For the time being, modernisation of the customs union and visa liberalisation “seems to be part of the options we are talking about” to revive the relationship, one EU diplomat said, adding that restarting accession talks “still needs to be debated”.
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