Subscribe here: [ Ссылка ] Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has charged that the European Union’s annual progress report on its accession process “reflects the unrealistic, unlawful and maximalist views of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side” concerning Cyprus.

On Wednesday, the European Commission released the 2024 Enlargement Strategy and the country reports prepared for all candidate and potential candidate countries.

“We reject the unfair assessments by the EU in the 2024 Türkiye Report, particularly on the political criteria and internal political dynamics,” a statement from the ministry in Ankara said.

While it acknowledged that the report refers to the progress made by Turkey in macroeconomic policies, in aligning with the EU standards in many areas and in its role in the Eastern Mediterranean, “on the other hand, the report reflects the unrealistic, unlawful and maximalist views of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side, while completely disregarding the legitimate concerns and justified policies of both Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [sic],” it said, referring to the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus.

“The EU’s statements regarding the Cyprus issue, which unconditionally reflect Greek Cypriot positions and take no account of the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, do not contribute to settlement efforts, and prove why the EU’s participation in a settlement process is not a viable option, it said, adding that “the EU does not possess the authority or jurisdiction to determine the borders of third countries.”

The ministry called for a “fresh perspective” on Turkish-EU relations.

On 30 October 2024, Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of a stronger Europe in the World, and Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, give a press conference on the 2024 « enlargement » package, following the weekly meeting of the von der Leyen Commission in Brussels.

The European Commission adopted its annual Enlargement Package, providing a detailed assessment of the state of play and the progress made by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Türkiye, on their respective paths towards EU accession. The assessments are accompanied by recommendations and guidance on the reform priorities.

Enlargement is a historic opportunity both for the acceding countries and for the current Member States and the EU as a whole. There are significant socio-economic, political and security advantages of a bigger and stronger Union.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “The tense geopolitical context makes it more compelling than ever that we complete the reunification of our continent, under the same values of democracy and the rule of law. We have already taken great strides over the last years towards integrating new Member States. And enlargement will remain a top priority of the new Commission”.

The enlargement process continues to be merit-based and depends on the objective progress made by each of the partners. This requires determination to implement irreversible reforms in all areas of EU law, with special emphasis on the fundamentals of the enlargement process. Democracy, the rule of law and fundamental values will continue to be the cornerstones of the EU's enlargement policy. EU membership remains a strategic choice.

The Commission reiterates its assessment that Serbia has fulfilled the benchmarks to open cluster 3 (Competitiveness and inclusive growth). In the coming year, Serbia is expected to speed up the work on the implementation of EU-accession related reforms across the board, with a particular focus on the rule of law interim benchmarks as well as ensuring a truly enabling environment for civil society and media, making credible efforts to shut down disinformation and foreign information manipulation.

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