EU aims to ‘re-energize’ bilateral ties with Türkiye

The European Union’s Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi expressed hope for further developments in EU-Türkiye relations, stating the EU is seeking to “re-energize” bilateral ties with Türkiye.

“We are actively engaged with Ankara to re-energize our bilateral relations,” Varhelyi said during the Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in Budapest on Monday.

Varhelyi also highlighted the productive exchange with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during the Gymnich meeting held in August, the first such invitation extended to Türkiye in five years.

Customs Union modernization discussions with Türkiye to resume

Varhelyi also expressed optimism about reopening discussions on the mandate for modernizing the EU-Türkiye Customs Union. He noted that further high-level dialogues and the gradual re-engagement of the European Investment Bank could follow.

“After five years, we just had a productive exchange with the Turkish Foreign Minister (Fidan) at the latest Gymnich meeting at the end of August,” Varhelyi said. “I do hope that all this is going to be reality in the very near future.”

EU enlargement is ‘inevitable’

Varhelyi reiterated the importance of the EU’s enlargement policy, calling it “a top priority” for the bloc. He emphasized that enlargement is no longer a question of if but when.

“It’s no longer the question of whether we will have enlargement. The question is when we will have enlargement,” he said, adding that in 2019, there were five candidate countries, and now there are nine, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

Kosovo, which applied for membership in December 2022, is currently regarded as a potential candidate by the EU.