IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu made a statement about Turkey-EU relations ahead of the European Council meeting to be held via videoconference on 25-26 March 2021. Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated that Turkey was also one of the top issues on the agenda of the October and December EU Summits and that a more comprehensive discussion had been postponed to the March Summit. Chairman Zeytinoğlu went on to say that the report prepared by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the EU Commission Josep Borrell will be discussed in detail by the leaders during the March Summit. IKV Chairman stated that the aforementioned report had been published before the Summit began and that it contained advice/proposals and a roadmap on the future of relations with Turkey. Chairman Zeytinoğlu underlined Turkey’s goal of EU membership and said that Turkey-EU relations should not be taken out of that context and off the route to accession. Chairman Zeytinoğlu continued by saying:

“The 25-26 March EU Summit is crucial for the future of Turkey-EU relations. The discussion on Turkey-EU relations during the December Summit had been postponed to March and EU High Representative Borrell was tasked with preparing a report on the issue. Borrell’s report has been published. The report draws attention to the positive developments in relation to the de-escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean but states that more time is needed to fully assess the situation and that the EU’s approach towards Turkey will take better shape after the June Summit. Borrell puts forward a roadmap consisting of two alternative routes in his report. It is suggested in the report that Turkey should pay attention to the EU's priorities on the topics of the Eastern Mediterranean and foreign policy and reinvigorate relations in a positive direction by displaying an approach that aims to reduce tensions. If that is not the case, the report proposes a number of phased sanctions. It is very upsetting to see that the sanctions are still on the agenda. Looking back at the history and comprehensive nature of Turkey-EU relations, the fact is that the relations should have been at a higher level than they are today. We hope that the EU re-evaluates its Turkey policy, taking into consideration the accession procedure. In doing this, the first step of the process of modernisation of the Customs Union needs to begin shortly. High level dialogues and close cooperation should start with special attention being paid to issues relating to the Green Deal and digitalisation. In the meantime, Turkey should take concrete actions to activate the Human Rights Action Plan and the Economic Reform Package and take advantage of the positive dynamic created by doing so. Turkey also needs to speed up efforts to fulfil the remaining six benchmarks required for visa liberalisation. Turkey should also, in line with its international commitments, initiate the approval process for Paris Climate Agreement and cancel its withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, the formation of which Turkey contributed to.”

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu analysed the roadmap for Turkey-EU relations proposed in Borrell’s report in more detail:

“In the report, reference is made to positive steps that need to be taken as a continuation of a more moderate atmosphere in the Eastern Mediterranean and as part of the positive agenda proposed after the October and December Summits. In this regard, it is envisaged that migration management and economic ties are strengthened, high level dialogues launched and people to people contacts enhanced. With respect to migration management, Turkey should accept 1450 returnees from the Greek islands. In return, the EU should begin resettling Syrian refugees, starting with the most vulnerable groups in Member States. There is no mention of the number of refugees to be resettled in this respect. On the one hand, the report mentions modernisation and expansion of the Turkey-EU Customs Union as a means of strengthening the economic ties. However, on the other hand, it is mentioned that the EU Council needs to authorise the Commission to begin the negotiations with Turkey. Yet for this to happen, a precondition is put forth; that Turkey should resolve the issues damaging trade with the EU. The fact that no mention has been made in the report pertaining to transportation quotas as well as Turkey being left out of the FTAs the EU signs with other parties is a major shortcoming. High level dialogues were suspended by the EU in 2019. Now it is proposed that high level dialogues should be relaunched in the areas of economy, transport, political developments, foreign affairs and security policies. High level dialogues on issues of Green Deal/climate, internal security, culture and interfaith relations are also among the proposals made in the report. High level dialogues on issues of Green Deal which initiated the transformation of the EU economy are especially crucial as it is very relevant for Turkey. Finally, under the people to people contacts heading, Turkey’s participation in the new generation EU programmes is encouraged and a reference is made to visa liberalisation. It is stated that the Commission is willing to advise on the benchmarks which Turkey has not yet fulfilled. It would have been more constructive if emphasis were put on how fulfilling these benchmarks would lead the way to visa liberalisation. Borrell’s report also mentions the possibility of phased sanctions in case the tensions rise in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this respect, the proposal includes additional sanctions: additional listings of individuals to be targeted with sanctions as proposed at the December Summit but has not been implemented, extending the scope of sanctions to include legal persons, limiting the economic cooperation and operations of the EIB and other financial institutions, applying pressure on certain sectors of the economy through issuing warnings against tourism and travel to Turkey and to apply additional sanctions in the form of import and export bans of certain products and technologies in the energy sector as well as other relevant sectors. We hope that there will not be a need for these sanctions and that Turkey-EU relations will develop on a constructive basis and based on a win-win formula.”