EU’s Borrell highlights Türkiye’s candidacy amid Cyprus issue at foreign ministers’ meeting

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, emphasized Türkiye’s status as an EU candidate country and expressed a hope that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s participation in the EU Foreign Ministers’ Informal Meeting would contribute to overcoming challenging bilateral issues.

Speaking to the reporters after the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, Borell said: “We had a lunch with the Foreign Minister from Türkiye Hakan Fidan. It was a long time without Türkiye being invited to the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers. It was a good thing that he came.”

This marked the first time in five years that Türkiye had been invited to the EU Foreign Ministers’ Informal Meeting.

Borrell noted that the gathering provided a valuable opportunity to discuss the geopolitical situation in the region and beyond with FM Fidan.

“I thank all Member States that made it possible that he could come. We reviewed all the geopolitical situations in our neighborhood and beyond, and in particular the issues that make our relationship difficult, with some problems related to the situation in Cyprus and the situation in the Middle East, but in particular, the situation in Cyprus which has been referred to by many Member States,” Borell said.

Cyprus issue takes center stage in Türkiye’s EU relations

Borrell thanked EU member states for facilitating Minister Fidan’s participation, emphasizing: “We reviewed all the geopolitical situation in our neighborhood and beyond, particularly the issues that complicate our relationship, such as the situation in Cyprus and the Middle East.”

“The situation in Cyprus has been referred to by many member states. We expressed the solidarity of the European Union with the position of Cyprus and our will to seek a solution through political dialogue. Let’s hope that this invitation to the Foreign Affairs Minister of Türkiye to our informal meeting will be the first step to restart a dialogue process aimed at resolving this issue – especially the Cyprus one,” he added.

Türkiye’s EU membership talks remain uncertain

When asked whether Türkiye had requested a restart of EU accession negotiations and whether this would be linked to the Cyprus issue, Borrell said: “Türkiye is a candidate country; it is and remains so. It is normal for the Turkish government to inquire about the status of negotiations that have been stalled for a long time. However, there has been no formal request for a specific timeline to restart negotiations.”

“The question of Türkiye as a candidate country was discussed, but no formal request was made to determine when we will start again,” he concluded.