“It is time to open a new chapter in Turkey’s EU accession process. Turkey has, in many areas, evolved into a key partner, as in the cases of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wandeful during the visit of his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Friday in Berlin.
Reporting on the joint press conference by the two ministers, German newspaper Handelsblatt quoted Turkish FM Fidan saying: “The EU remains Turkey’s strategic objective, and we will endeavour to meet all the corresponding requirements. It is not a problem that the EU sets criteria for admitting new members. We must abide by the rules of the game. However, there is currently a standstill in the negotiations; the chapter must be reopened, and EU-Turkey relations must be normalised again.”
Wandeful said strengthening cooperation between the EU and Turkey is in Germany’s interest. However, the EU’s Copenhagen criteria on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are non-negotiable and remain a binding prerequisite.
Turkey formally applied to join the bloc in 1987, but was not granted candidate status until 1999. Six years later, in 2005, accession negotiations began, but stalled over concerns on human rights, democratic governance and the Cyprus issue. Tensions increased after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, which saw a major crackdown on political opponents. Turkey’s democratic backsliding effectively brought accession talks to a standstill, and have kept them frozen since 2018.
Wandeful supports Turkey’s participation in SAFE
The German Foreign Minister noted that Germany views the deepening of defence cooperation in Europe as complementary to NATO. He expressed support for NATO members to participate in the EU’s financial instrument for low-interest defence loans, called SAFE (Security Action for Europe).
He believed “the SAFE mechanism should also be opened to other NATO partners, for example to Turkey or the United Kingdom.” He reiterated that “Turkey has always been a reliable partner for Germany, and we must take Turkey seriously when it says that the EU is its strategic goal, because this is in the common interest of both sides.”
For his part, the Turkish FM said “the SAFE mechanism is of great importance to us; it is important that Turkey not be left out but included. Turkey’s defence industry has great capabilities, and the armed forces in the region have extensive experience; therefore it is in the common interest of Europe and Turkey for the country to be included in this mechanism.”
Fidan argued that because many EU member states are also NATO members, many issues concerning Europe automatically concern NATO as well. “Cooperation within SAFE and our role in NATO relate to Turkey’s strategic security posture, and therefore Turkey must be included in the EU’s defence mechanisms,” he said.
Merz: bring Turkey closer
Fidan’s invite to Berlin is part of a broader German effort to revitalise relations with Ankara. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Turkey in October, speaking about the “enormous potential” in bilateral relations at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“I personally, and the German government as well, see Turkey closely aligned with the European Union. We want to continue paving the way toward Europe,” Merz had said.
A month later, Merz received Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Berlin, where the latter raised the issue of Turkey helping Russia bypass sanctions imposed on it over its war of aggression on Ukraine. He also asked the German Chancellor to help coordinate steps to improve EU-Turkey relations alongside a resumption of Cyprus peace talks. Christodoulides seeks with EU-related 'treats' to entice Ankara to drop its two-state solution rhetoric and agree to peace talks based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
During their joint press conference, Merz once again highlighted the importance of bringing the EU and Turkey closer together.
Christodoulides: ‘Turkey excluded itself’
Speaking on Saturday, the Cypriot president said “Turkey has excluded itself” from participating in the EU’s SAFE financial instrument.
Asked to comment on a European Commission statement that Turkey’s application to participate in SAFE does not seem to be moving forward, Christodoulides said: “The participation of any third country requires a security agreement between that third country and the European Union, a security agreement that requires the consent of the 27 member states of the European Union, including, of course, the Republic of Cyprus.”
UK not in SAFE, but can participate as third country
Meanwhile, the EU and UK failed to reach a deal on UK participation in SAFE on Friday.
“We, of course, remain fully committed to delivering our ambitious UK-EU security and defence partnership,” said Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier. “If an agreement could not be found at this point in time, let's not forget that SAFE is open by design.”
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This is one of our most important alliances ... we will move forward with all our defence plans regardless of our participation in SAFE.”
The clash was over how much the UK would have to pay to participate in joint procurements financed by SAFE. Under the loans-for-armaments programme, third countries can account for a maximum of 35 percent of the value of a weapons system paid for by the scheme. The UK was negotiating for a higher percentage, which would benefit the country’s large arms industry but could not agree with the EU on the payout.
Politico reports that the UK can still take part in joint procurements under the 35% threshold, even without an agreement.
At the same time, the EU is in talks with Canada to agree a similar agreement on participation, with chances higher of reaching a deal in time.
The end of November marks the deadline for countries applying for loans to present their defence spending plans to the European Commission.
UK Minister for EU Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “While it is disappointing that we have not been able to conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK defence industry will still be able to participate in projects through SAFE on third country terms.”
Sources: CNA, Politico, Turkish Minute