The prejudiced, myopic and erroneous stance on Türkiye in the Conclusions adopted by the European Council held in Brussels on 23-24 June 2022 is regrettable. This yet again is a demonstration of the inability of the EU in breaking the vicious circle on matters related to Türkiye.

The EU’s attempt to legitimize the maximalist claims that are against international law regarding the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea is unacceptable. Likewise, the EU’s silence on the Greek actions violating international law, particularly on the Greek claim of 10 nautical mile national airspace, militarization of the islands, push-backs is an utter oddity. Such statements do not contribute to the resolution of the issues and cause harm to regional stability.

Although Türkiye maintains its stance on the side of international law and good neighborly relations, reciprocating to this with a strategy of deliberate tension and escalation is a prime example of insincerity.

The EU must already comprehend that the benefits that will be brought about by Türkiye’s accession process and the cooperation between Türkiye and the EU must not be taken hostage by and sacrificed to the narrow-minded, unlawful and maximalist claims of Greece and Greek Cypriot Administration. Essentially, the EU’s general interests necessitate this.

On the other hand, Türkiye welcomes grating the status of candidate country to Ukraine and Moldova, and recognizing the European perspective of Georgia at the European Council. However, it is odd that accession negotiations with candidate countries Albania and North Macedonia have not been started yet. Türkiye considers that granting the status of candidate country to Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible will be for the benefit of wider European geography, including the Balkans.

Türkiye is of the opinion that the EU must sincerely engage with all candidate countries and advance their accession processes based on merit.