The European Commission's regular reports on candidate countries have been published within the scope of the 2022 EU Enlargement Strategy. Stating that the Commission has been preparing reports for Türkiye since 1998, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu touched upon the importance of the process of advancing towards the goal of full membership. In an international environment characterized by tensions and crises caused by the post-COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, Chairman Zeytinoğlu stressed the importance of developing Türkiye-EU relations in line with common interests.

Chairman Zeytinoğlu continued as follows:

“We are going through a period of serious fragility and threats in global security and economic conditions. On the one hand, a war is raging in Europe with no clear end date in sight and there are crises triggered by it, on the other hand, global institutions have been weakened and global supply chains have been disrupted after COVID-19. Under these circumstances, it is crucial that peace and security and the rapid functioning of global trade are ensured. In addition, the global climate crisis and the green transformation must be taken into account in all policies. The European Commission's recommendation to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina in this year's enlargement strategy is a promising development in terms of re-energising the enlargement process.

For the EU to be effective in the future of the continent, it is essential that the enlargement process follows a credible direction. The growing threats and challenges that deeply affect Europe reveal the critical importance of global and regional cooperation and bring forward the need for closer and stronger relations between Türkiye and the EU as an urgent priority more than ever. Türkiye's role in ensuring security in Europe, overcoming the energy crisis, and achieving the Green Deal is crucial for the EU. Similarly, Türkiye needs to strengthen its steps towards the EU and revitalise reforms in order to improve the relations and ensure that it takes its rightful place in the EU decision-making process."

Chairman Zeytinoğlu evaluated the report as follows:

“This year’s report reflects a similar approach to previous ones. Türkiye is criticised especially regarding the political criteria and there are some question marks regarding the macroeconomic indicators and economic governance. Taking these criticisms seriously and taking appropriate steps are highly important for reviving the reform process. The report points out that Türkiye is a key partner and emphasizes its role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine especially regarding the grain agreement and migration management. Besides that, it is underlined that Türkiye’s alignment with the EU’s foreign, security and defence policy is limited and there is a lack of alignment with EU restrictive measures on Russia. Despite indicating that security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean is strategically in the interest of Europe we cannot see any appropriate approach that will fulfil what is necessary, as the EU maintains its biased stance on the relations between Türkiye and Greece and on the Cyprus issue. We know that Türkiye’s accession process was partially suspended in 2006 due to the Cyprus issue, and it was decided that the eight chapters related to the Customs Union could not be opened and no chapter could be closed. If Türkiye’s accession process had not been interrupted in various ways, we could have seen a different Türkiye-EU relationship today. The opening of chapters is not a reward for Türkiye. On the contrary, the implementation of the EU acquis in a country like Türkiye will enable the EU to expand its area of governance. It is never too late for anything. Türkiye is a Western-oriented country. In addition to our economic and trade relations, we continue to pursue our European choice as a political and social system. In this respect, encouraging and supporting Türkiye in the reform process is of great importance for developing Türkiye-EU relations. It is essential to accelerate and align relations with initiatives such as updating the Customs Union and reviving the visa liberalisation process while maintaining the goal of full membership. The EU needs to develop cooperation and coordination with Türkiye against the threat from Russia. Developing relations in areas such as energy, climate, and trade will also facilitate coming together on shared values.”