EU Report: Turkey pursues strategic autonomy while claiming commitment to union
The European Commission's 2024 “Türkiye Report” argued that Turkey has been claiming to be committed to its EU membership while diversifying its diplomatic relations, subtly referencing its ties with emerging alignments such as BRICS.
Duvar English
The European Commission on Oct. 30 has once again released a country report regarding Turkey’s accession process to the European Union (E.U.) with various negative comments and criticisms.
E.U. stated that Turkey continued its “360-degree” foreign policy and added, “While claiming that it remains committed to EU membership, Türkiye has embarked on a comprehensive vision in the diplomatic, economic, security and defense spheres, diversifying partnerships and asserting its strategic autonomy.”
Although Turkey recently expanded its efforts to join BRICS, its bid was vetoed by India.
The report mentioned Turkey’s close relationships with both Ukraine and Russia while stating that it resisted the union’s sanctions against the latter and “intensified its trade, economic and energy ties.”
E.U. also underlined that it was not content with Turkey’s stance against Israel and noted, “Following the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on 7 Oct. 2023, Türkiye did not condemn the terrorist attack and took a stance in support of Hamas, which is in complete disagreement with the EU’s position.”
Turkey, at least vocally, condemned Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians and formally cut trade ties with the country, which continued to receive arms supplies from the EU members despite its aggressive actions in the Middle East.
According to the report, E.U. welcomed the recent warming diplomatic relations between Greece and Turkey and underlined that it has not “engaged in any unauthorized drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean or in flights over Greek islands.”
EU has ‘serious concerns’ about democracy in Turkey
Commenting on the domestic conditions, the union reiterated its previous stance mentioned in previous country reports, “The EU’s serious concerns about the continued deterioration of democratic standards, the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and respect for fundamental rights were not addressed.”
According to the E.U., 2024 local elections “were well organized overall and respected the will of the people.” Nonetheless, it criticized the presidential system and underscored its weakening effect on the parliament.
The E.U. report stated that Turkey did not make “any progress” on key issues identified in previous reports regarding the rule of law and fundamental rights.
The recommendations urged Turkey to ensure judicial independence, limit executive influence over the judiciary, reform the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), and safeguard fair trials by upholding fundamental rights.
E.U. repeatedly mentioned Turkey's unwillingness to uphold certain rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), including the case regarding release of philanthropist Osman Kavala who has been kept imprisoned due to Gezi Park trials despite ECtHR ruling.
What happened?
Turkey first applied for EU membership in 1987 and become a candidate country in December 1999. Even though membership negotiations opened in October 2005, Turkey's two-decades-old bid to join the bloc has been frozen since 2018 due to EU concerns over its human rights record alongside policy disputes in the eastern Mediterranean and over Cyprus.
At the same time, the bloc depends on NATO member Turkey's help, particularly on migration issues.
Tensions in 2019 between EU-member Greece and Turkey led to Brussels threatening sanctions against Ankara and cutting off some dialogue channels. Ties have improved since 2021, with high-level talks restarting.