Evaluation of the EU Türkiye report from former EU Ambassador Kuneralp

Turkey's former Permanent Representative to the European Union (EU), retired ambassador Selim Kuneralp, evaluated the 2026 Türkiye report published by the European Commission the other day to Cumhuriyet. The report mentioned the pressures on the opposition in Turkey and said, "The gap between Turkey's goal of joining the EU and its decline in the basic political criteria required for EU accession has widened further." Turkey's compliance rate with the EU's common attitudes in foreign policy was noted as 4 percent.

'TO THE BENEFIT OF TURKEY'

Kuneralp said, "This must be the 29th report published since 1998. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it 'unfair' and 'biased', but I think the findings are extremely accurate. First of all, there is no other organization in the world that writes such a comprehensive report about Turkey. It includes foreign policy, human rights, food security, public procurement, energy and more. It is not only EU legislation that is in question here. Council of Europe norms are also mentioned. Turkey is a member of the Council. However, there is also an issue of anti-corruption there." "We see that there are deficiencies. There are recommendations, but Turkey does not implement them. If Turkey had followed the corruption recommendations in the political environment where we are struggling with funds, it is stated that the Council norms regarding terrorism were not complied with. If this were done, there are similar recommendations regarding pesticides. There are issues that would benefit not only the EU but also Turkey."

'WE HAVE SEEN 90 PERCENT IN MATCH OF COMPLIANCE'

Expressing that the political criticisms of the report are not much different from previous years, Kuneralp said, "For example, it is said that 'Türkiye has a closeness to Hamas in the Middle East'. However, for the EU, Hamas is a terrorist organization. Regarding Russia, it is said that 'Products that the European Union has banned from exporting are exported through Turkey.' It is said that 'Relations with Greece have improved in the Aegean, Turkey does not conduct research in the Eastern Mediterranean, but on the other hand, airspace violations have increased.' The Cyprus issue is similar to previous years." "The rate of compliance with common attitudes has increased from 3 percent to 4 percent. We have seen 90 percent of compliance."

'NO BENEFIT'

Based on this report, Kuneralp answered the question "What benefit does Türkiye expect from the EU and the EU expects from Turkey?" with "No benefit." He stated that neither side wants to be the one to end relations and sever ties.