EU in talks with Türkiye to advance work on 're-energising' relations

The European Union is in dialogue with Türkiye on re-energising and improving relations, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi has said during a trip to the country's capital Ankara.

"There is an understanding that we should advance work on re-energising our relationship in a cooperative and mutually beneficial manner," Varhelyi said at a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday.

"When we think about Türkiye, we think about a candidate country, key partner, and strategic and major NATO ally," he noted, adding that the two parties have "overcome a significant amount of problems" regarding the Customs Union.

Economic relations

The EU official also underlined the economic cooperation between the two sides, adding that 2023 saw a record in trade with Türkiye.

"The EU aims to mobilise €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) of direct investment as part of the EU-Türkiye Investment Platform," Varhelyi stated.

Fidan, for his part, underlined that the EU visa process for Turkish citizens should be more streamlined, saying: "Recently, there have been visa issues with the EU countries, and we're in talks with our European counterparts on this matter."

Facilitating visa processes

Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat also met the Varhelyi on Thursday, discussing the steps that can be taken to facilitate visa processes for Turkish citizens, especially business people.

"We also reviewed our areas of cooperation, especially trade, investments, green and digital transformation," Bolat said on X.

The minister added: "With a balanced bilateral trade volume of over $210 billion, we will continue to work with the EU to deepen cooperation in all areas."