Türkiye will reiterate the importance of launching talks with the European Union for the modernization of the customs union and resumption of high-level dialogue meetings on political, energy and transportation fields, during a visit by a senior EU official to Ankara on Feb. 6.
According to diplomatic sources, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will host EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos in Ankara on Feb. 6. The commissioner is also expected to meet Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Transportation Minister Abdülkadir Uraloğlu.
This will be Kos’ second visit to Ankara. Fidan and Kos met in December in Brussels.
According to the sources, Fidan will repeat that full membership to the EU remains to be Türkiye’s strategic objective and underline the need for the EU to adopt an unbiased, rational and merit-based approach towards Türkiye.
In this frame, Türkiye should be treated equally as other candidate countries and included to all relevant processes.
Fidan will also stress that only comprehensive, institutional and multi-layered cooperation between the two sides will overcome existing problems in the ties. To this end, bilateral institutional mechanisms should be brought into force and high-level dialogue meetings in the political, energy and transportation fields should resume, the minister will tell Kos.
The two officials will also discuss trade ties, particularly on upgrading the 30-year-old customs union between the two sides.
Fidan will recall that the EU stands as Türkiye’s top trade partner and Türkiye as the fifth biggest trade partner of the EU, underlining that this demonstrates the strategic importance of continued and developed trade ties.
In this context, Fidan will underline the need to launch negotiations on the modernization of the customs union without delay. Visa liberalization will also be on the agenda as Fidan will call on Brussels to implement measures to facilitate visa procedures for Turkish nationals.
Fidan and Kos will also exchange views on security, particularly on efforts for shaping a new security architecture for the European continent. Fidan will stress once again that new security architecture in Europe will not be possible without Türkiye as an efficient actor in the region and beyond, while stressing the importance of security cooperation in the Black Sea. He will, therefore, call on the EU to act with a strategic vision and responsibility when it comes to security matters.
Fidan and Kos will also review the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, Syria and Gaza.
