EU Report Lauds Some Cooperation But Criticises Lack Of Coordination

The European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell have adopted a joint communication with regards to EU-Turkey political, economic, and trade relations. By-and-large the report demonstrates the EU's continued conundrum with regards to Turkish relations, insofar as it recognises Ankara's role as a key geopolitical partner, while at the same time calling out a lack of implementation of 'core EU principles', sanctions on Russia, or efforts to improve relations with Greece or Cyprus.

• On Russia: "Türkiye continues to oppose Russia’s military aggression, and engages diplomatically, [...]At the same time, Türkiye’s non-implementation of the EU restrictive measures against Russia, while intensifying trade and economic ties with Moscow, poses serious risks of circumvention of EU restrictive measures which must be addressed."
• On EU accession: "...the Council noted in June 2018 that Türkiye had been moving away from the European Union and therefore its accession negotiations had “effectively come to a standstill and no further chapters can be considered for opening or closing”. [...]The facts leading to this assessment still hold..."
• The overall content of the report can be seen to be critical of Ankara's seeming refusal to adhere to EU norms in areas of foreign, security, and trade policy. However, given Turkey's position outside the Union and the refusal of Brussels to countenance accession talks a shift in the Erdogan administration towards Brussels' desired stance appears very unlikely.