The report on the future of Türkiye-EU relations, prepared by European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell was announced today in Brussels. The report can be considered as a major rollback of the sanctions imposed by the EU against Türkiye in 2019 in relation to the drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. In addition, progressive, proportionate, and reversible co-operation proposals in mutually beneficial areas are presented.

IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu stated the following regarding the report:

“We were expecting concrete recommendations for the development and revitalisation of relations from the report published today and that is exactly what happened. We have seen that these are focussed on four areas in particular: "Trade, Foreign Policy, Migration and Mobility". It is clear from the report that the EU sees Türkiye as an important regional actor and an assertive foreign policy player. The approach here is to increase Türkiye's alignment with EU foreign policy and to enable it to contribute more to EU missions and operations. Türkiye’s non-participation in the measures against Russia and the prevention of exports of certain critical goods to Russia are again emphasised. Also promising are proposals to resume high-level dialogues on economic, political, energy and transport issues that were suspended in 2019, to reconvene the Association Council and to invite the Turkish Foreign Minister to informal foreign ministerial meetings. For visa liberalisation, it is stated that six criteria are still have not met, and visa facilitation is proposed for certain categories. If this can be implemented quickly, it can be considered as a positive proposal at least in terms of reducing the problems in the visa process. The most comprehensive area of the recommendations is the initiation of the modernisation process of the Customs Union. Although we see an increased willingness to initiate this process in the report, it is again associated with the GCASC issue and indexed to the resolution of existing trade barriers. We still expect a stronger will to emerge in this direction at the EU Leaders' Summit in December, where the report will be discussed, and that the GCASC issue will not be put in front of us as an obstacle.”