Türkiye on Thursday criticized the conclusions of this week’s extraordinary European Council meeting, accusing the EU of lacking “strategic vision” in its approach to the country, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
“The conclusions on Türkiye by the Special European Council held in Brussels on 17-18 April 2024 are yet another example of the EU’s lack of strategic vision on Türkiye and global developments,” the ministry said in an official statement.
According to the ministry, the just-concluded summit in Brussels failed to make any concrete decisions on recommendations forimproving EU-Türkiye relations, despite the EU’s acknowledgment of
the importance of a “cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Türkiye.”
Ankara “will never accept an approach that links progress in TürkiyeEU relations” to the ongoing dispute over Cyprus, it added, pushing
back on a new emphasis by the bloc on resolving the dispute over the divided island.
“It is necessary to abandon an understanding which reduces these multifaceted relations to the Cyprus issue. Such a mentality cannot make a positive and constructive contribution to the problem, nor to
the other regional and global issues,” the ministry said.
While reaffirming its commitment to EU membership, Türkiye, “as a candidate country,” rejected “selective limitation” placed on bilateral cooperation.
The ministry also said future dialogue with the EU would be reviewed “on the basis of reciprocity,” considering the “pace, level, and scope”
of the EU’s engagement with Türkiye moving forward. This latest spat highlights the ongoing tensions between Türkiye and
the EU.
