The latest European Commission progress report on Turkey delivers one of the most critical assessments in recent years, highlighting a severe deterioration in rule of law, human rights, and democratic governance. It also accuses Ankara of continuing to challenge the sovereign rights of Greece and failing to contribute constructively to a resolution of the Cyprus issue—claims Turkey has angrily dismissed as biased and baseless.
According to the report, Turkey’s EU accession process remains effectively frozen, despite ongoing economic cooperation and regional engagement. Brussels cites an “alarming regression” in the independence of the judiciary, media freedom, and political pluralism, noting ongoing prosecutions and detentions of opposition figures and journalists. A notable example is the imprisonment and political disqualification of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who had been seen as a potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Greek-Turkish Relations: Dialogue but Persistent Tensions
The report acknowledges the improvement in communication between Athens and Ankara since the “Athens Declaration” of December 2023 but warns that disputes over the continental shelf and maritime zones continue to block further progress. Turkey, it says, still disputes Greek sovereignty in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, issues illegal NAVTEX advisories, and violates Greek airspace and territorial waters more frequently than in previous years.
Particular concern was expressed about the inclusion of the “Blue Homeland” doctrine in Turkish school textbooks and Ankara’s threats to treat Greece’s potential extension of its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles as a casus belli—a declaration of war. The report also criticizes Turkey for obstructing work on the “Great Sea Interconnector,” a major EU-backed underwater electricity project connecting Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, while pursuing energy links with the unrecognized “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
Furthermore, the EU denounces Turkey’s failure to reopen the Halki Orthodox Seminary, closed since 1971, and expresses alarm over ongoing hate crimes and vandalism targeting minority places of worship.
Cyprus Issue and Foreign Policy Divergences
On Cyprus, the European Commission urges Turkey to engage constructively in a fair and sustainable settlement within the UN framework, based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality. It condemns Ankara’s continued refusal to recognize the Republic of Cyprus and its insistence on a “two-state solution.” The report calls on Turkey to withdraw from Varosha in compliance with UN resolutions and to implement the Additional Protocol to the EU-Turkey Association Agreement.
While noting that unauthorized drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean had ceased, Brussels highlighted the continuation of Turkish military exercises and drone flights in Cypriot airspace. It also warned that Turkey’s independent foreign policy stance, particularly toward Russia and the Middle East, remains misaligned with EU positions.
Ankara’s Response: “Biased and Politically Motivated”
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the report’s findings as “unfounded, biased, and politically motivated,” accusing the EU of adopting “maximalist and unlawful Greek and Greek Cypriot positions.” Ankara insisted that the EU ignored its “legitimate concerns” and efforts to maintain a constructive agenda, reaffirming its “strategic commitment” to EU membership despite “unjust political obstacles.”
Turkey emphasized its “positive approach” in the Eastern Mediterranean and progress in bilateral ties with Greece, urging the EU to lift restrictive measures imposed in 2019 and to adopt a more balanced stance.
