Türkiye says EU document fails to recognize Ankara’s role

ANKARA

Türkiye on July 17 criticized the European Union’s “Common Understanding” document, saying it ignored Ankara’s status as a candidate country and lacked a strategic and fair approach toward bilateral relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli issued a written statement addressing references to Türkiye in the document, which was published by the EU on July 15.

“The document, which ignores Türkiye’s candidate status, reveals the EU’s inadequacy in developing a common vision for the future with our country,” Keçeli said.

He said the references to Türkiye reflected a lack of strategic perspective and fairness, arguing that the bloc had failed to establish a shared vision for the future with Ankara.

Keçeli also criticized the timing and wording of the document, claiming it was intended to overshadow the recent NATO summit in Ankara.

“It is seen that the document in question was written in a tone that seeks to overshadow this reality, following the historic NATO Ankara summit, where the foundations of a new era were laid in which European allies assumed significant additional responsibilities within NATO and Türkiye’s indispensable role was confirmed,” he said.

The spokesperson also objected to the document’s references to eastern Mediterranean, describing the claims as unfounded and reflecting what he called a biased approach.

“We invite the EU to adopt a realistic vision and discourse in line with the interests of both sides,” Keçeli said.

Türkiye has been an EU candidate country since 1999, but accession talks launched in 2005 have been largely stalled in recent years amid disputes over issues including democracy, human rights, Cyprus and foreign policy differences. Ankara sees the prolongation of the process as politically motivated.