europarl.europa.eu | DRAFT report on the 2022 Commission Report on on Türkiye, 30 May 2023 motion for a resolution

General assessment and latest developments
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The way forward for EU-Türkiye relations
[... 14-19 ... ]

armenpress | European Parliament foreign affairs committee urges Turkey to recognize Armenian Genocide, supports normalization, 18 July

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has adopted a report on Turkey which also mentions the latter's normalization process with Armenia.

The report supports the Armenia-Turkey normalization for reconciliation, regional stability and security. The report welcomes the progress achieved so far and commends the Armenian Prime Minister's attendance of the Turkish President's inauguration ceremony. The report once again calls on Turkey to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and preserve the Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey.

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Urging the Turkish government, the European Union and its member states to break the current deadlock and move towards a closer partnership, MEPs recommend starting a reflection process to find a parallel and realistic framework for EU-Turkey relations. They call on the Commission to explore possible formats for a mutually appealing framework.

trade.ec.europa.eu: Türkiye is one of 42 current members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which was launched in 2008 as a continuation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership established at the Barcelona Conference in 1995. This inter-governmental partnership promotes cooperation and dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region and brings together all 27 EU Member States and 15 countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel [!], Jordan [!], Lebanon [!], Mauritania [?!], Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine*, Syria [!]—suspended, Tunisia [!], and Türkiye; Libya [!] is an observer).

The UfM's strategic objectives are regional stability, human development and regional economic integration. Its overall aim is to transform the Euro-Mediterranean region into an area of peace, stability, and prosperity.
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* This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

In the report, MEPs confirm that Turkey remains a candidate for EU accession, a NATO ally and a key partner in security, trade and economic relations, and migration, stressing that Turkey is expected to respect democratic values, rule of law, human rights and abide by EU laws, principles and obligations.
[...]

al-monitor | European Parliament rebuffs Turkey's NATO-EU trade-off + Nacho Sánchez Amor tweets

The European deputies called on the EU to start a reflection process to find an "alternative and realistic framework" in substitution for Turkey's EU accession [sic] process.

trade.ec.europa.eu: Total trade in goods between the EU and Türkiye in 2022 amounted to €198.1 billion (3.6% of the EU's total trade with the ["intra- and extra-euro area"].

The EP report urged Turkey "to ratify Sweden's NATO membership in the Turkish Grand National Assembly as early as possible," saying that delaying it would only play into Russia's hands. EP members acknowledged measures taken by the Turkish authorities to prevent the re-exportation to Russia of goods covered by EU sanctions, but it urged them to go further to ensure that Turkey "stops being a hub for eNTiTiEs and individuals that wish to circumvent [EU] sanctions."

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A press release on Tuesday from the EP Foreign Affairs Committee said EP members underlined that the NATO accession process of one country cannot be linked to the EU accession process of another. A parliamentary source told Al-Monitor that this was a new amendment to the report, implying that the wording came after [Stoltenberg-]Erdogan[-Biden-Hersh] made the linkage between Sweden's NATO bid and Turkey's long-standing bid for EU membership.
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dailysabah | EU report on Türkiye 'one-sided, unobjective': Justice Minister

Yılmaz Tunç said Wednesday, after the European Union said Ankara's accession process "cannot resume under the current circumstances."

"We regret to see that the report is far from evaluating the current reform works in Türkiye and the developments in the fields of human rights and rule of law objectively and based on data," Tunç wrote on social media.

The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the report on Tuesday by 47 votes in favor, no votes against and 10 abstentions. "Türkiye's < wipes tears > alignment rate with the EU's Common foreign and security policy has slipped to an all-time low of 7%, making it by far the lowest of all enlargement countries," the report highlighted.
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Türkiye has the longest history with the union and the longest negotiation process. The country signed an association agreement with the EU's predecessor in 1964, the European Economic Community (EEC), which is usually regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Türkiye had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. For the start of the negotiations, however, Türkiye had to wait for another six years, until 2005, a uniquely long process compared with other candidates.

Then the EP suspended The Process™ again in 2019.