The European Union “attaches particular importance to the resumption and progress of talks for a solution to the Cyprus problem” for the further development of relations between itself and Turkey, EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
Borrell was presenting the EU’s annual package of reports on its enlargement process, with reports prepared regarding each of the 10 current official candidate states, of which Turkey is one, and expressed disappointment regarding Turkey’s current stance on Cyprus.
“Turkey has continued to refuse to recognise and cooperate with the Republic of Cyprus,” he began, adding that the country “has not removed all obstacles to the free movement of goods, including restrictions on direct transport links with the Republic of Cyprus.”
“Turkey has also refused to cooperate with the Republic of Cyprus on security-related issues, including terrorism. The Republic of Turkey continued to veto the Republic of Cyprus’ applications for membership in various international organisations, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),” he added.
Additionally, he said, “Turkey’s military exercises in Cyprus’ maritime zones continued. Turkish drone flights in the flight information area (FIR) and the national airspace of the Republic of Cyprus also continued unabated.”
He added that Turkey had “continued to heighten the militarisation” of the north, pointing to upgrades at the Gecitkale (Lefkoniko) air base.
He also criticised Turkey’s current support for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, adding, “the EU remains fully committed to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue within the framework of the United Nations,” that being a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
In better news, he said there were “no unauthorised drilling activities from Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean”, and that Turkey “has issued several navigational telegrams to conduct seismic surveys and scientific research activities, but none in areas that include parts of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus.”
Outside of the Cyprus problem, his evaluation of relations between the EU and Turkey were mixed.
He said, “both the EU and Turkey seek rapprochement in areas of mutual interest”, and that the EU is “communicating and cooperating constructively with Turkey in a gradual, proportionate and reversible manner, under the conditions set”, with that communication continuing “at a high level in areas of common interest”.
He did, however, note, that accession negotiations with Turkey have remained “deadlocked” since 2018, with the EU having expressed “serious concerns … regarding the continued deterioration of democratic standards, the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and of respect for fundamental rights”.
Those concerns, he said, “have not been addressed”, though a more positive point of note was that the joint declaration on migration signed in 2016 “continued to produce results and remained the basic framework for cooperation on migration”, with migrant flows westwards over the Maritsa river and across the Aegean sea into Greece having largely been stemmed.
He also added that Turkey last year became the EU’s fifth largest trading partner, with trade between Turkey and the EU now exceeding €206 billion.
Turning to the matter of “neighbourly relations and regional cooperation”, he said relations between Turkey and Greece “have improved, with Turkey not participating in unauthorised drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean or in flights over Greek islands.”
