EU ready to boost Turkey ties if calm is 'sustained'

European Union leaders have agreed at a video summit that the bloc is prepared to boost cooperation with Turkey, provided a "current de-escalation is sustained," following a spike in tensions.

"The European Union is ready to engage with Turkey in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner to enhance cooperation in a number of areas of common interest and take further decisions at the European Council meeting in June," conclusions from the summit said on Thursday. 

Leaders of the European virtually gathered to discuss the bloc's ties with Turkey and Russia as well as the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis in a two-day summit.

Turkey welcomed the rhetoric during the summit and said it wanted to develop its relations with the bloc on the basis of cooperation and mutual benefit, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that although the evaluation section of the report titled “The status of political, economic and trade relations between Turkey and the EU” stressed the need for a positive agenda, “it was seen that it was written under the influence of the narrow-minded claims of several member states and with a one-way view of Turkey-EU relations.”

“At the same time, we welcome the efforts made by the report to advance Turkey-EU relations on the basis of a positive agenda and the rhetoric that is tried to be reflected in the summit statement,” it said.

"We are committed to immediately starting top-level dialogue that serves our common interests in all areas, including the economy, energy, transport, anti-terrorism, migration management and visa liberalisation, not just regional and health-related issues,” the ministry said.

The ministry said “it is against international law for the EU, which is not capable of preventing the maximalist attitude of the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo and its unilateral provocative activities in the spirit of EU solidarity, to describe the drilling activities of both our country and the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) in the Eastern Mediterranean as illegal.”

De-escalation in Eastern Mediterranean

Relations with Turkey were on the table of the EU's 27 nations as the bloc plots a way forward after an alarming spike in tensions last year over Ankara's gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and Greece have sparred over maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ankara has stressed negotiations towards fair sharing and a win-win agreement while decrying Athens' efforts to turn a bilateral issue into one between Turkey and the EU.

The bloc has been encouraged by the resumption of talks with Greece over a disputed maritime border and by plans to restart UN peace efforts for the divided island of Cyprus.

Visa-free travel 

The heads of states and governments were expected to repeat their promises on updating the Customs Union between the bloc and Turkey, as well as granting visa-free travel for Turkish citizens if the relationship continues to improve.

Ankara has long pressed for modernisation of the EU-Turkey Customs Union, saying a new deal would benefit both sides.

The renewal of the 2016 EU-Turkey deal – or at least some new financial support for hosting the refugees – will also be on the agenda.

Refugee deal

Turkey also favours renewing the refugee deal. 

However, it has said that while it upheld its end of the pact, the EU did not, including not fully providing $7.1 billion in aid and breaking pledges on visa liberalisation.

Turkey hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.