Türkiye to EU: Stop politicising veto power in enlargement process

Türkiye expects the European Union not to misuse its veto power in the country’s long-stalled accession process, Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for EU Affairs Faruk Kaymakcı told POLITICO.

Kaymakcı stressed that relations between Türkiye and the European Union — including the membership talks — should be freed from the “abuse of the veto right based on narrow-minded, maximalist national gains.” 

He emphasised that the stronger Türkiye’s EU accession prospects become, the faster and deeper the country’s reforms and legal harmonisation with European standards will proceed, recalling the progress achieved between 1999 and 2006.

A spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry added that Türkiye’s eventual EU membership would not only benefit the country itself but would also strengthen the European Union and help it evolve into a truly global actor.

Türkiye signed an association agreement with what was then the European Economic Community in 1963 and formally applied for membership in 1987. Accession negotiations began in 2005 but have been repeatedly suspended over political disputes.

By Tamilla Hasanova